Tek 4C
By: Tanya Raghu
What does the immune system do to prevent viruses?
White Blood Cells
The body's defense against foreign invaders and viruses is the immune system. It is made of a network of cells, tissues, and organs which work together, the main cells involved are Leukocytes (white blood cells) which look to destroy viruses. The cells are found all over the body including in the bone marrow, thymus, and spleen.
Movement
They circulate throughout the body in a coordinated system between organs and lymphatic vessels so that they can monitor the entire body consistently.
Phagocytes
There are two types of white blood cells, Phagocytes which chew up invading organisms
Lymphocytes
The second type are Lymphocytes that allow the body to remember previous invaders and help to body kill them
When Viruses are detected, several different types of cells work together to kill these foreign predators. Lymphocytes are triggered start to produce antibodies, specialized proteins that detect the viruses.
Once produced, these antibodies continue to exist in a person's body, so that if the same antigen is presented to the immune system again, they can attack again.
Chicken Pox
The reason why people only get infected with Chicken Pox one time is because the first time these antibodies were already created for the infection and continue to exist to ward off the disease.
Passive Immunity
Passive immunity is "borrowed" from another source and it lasts for a short time. For example, antibodies in a mother's breast milk provide a baby with temporary immunity to diseases the mother has been exposed to. This can help protect the baby against infection during the early years of childhood.