ABSTRACT

Vaccination is the process by which the adaptive immune system of an individual can be stimulated against the infectious agent, by exposing the healthy individual to non-pathogenic or inactivate or heat-killed form of the infectious agent. A lot of research is going on to develop and design vaccine for diseases without an effective control. The World Health Organisation has designed an immunisation protocol and immunisation at the birth of a child is now accepted across the globe. Immunisation could be either passive or active from either natural sources like exposure to environment, human and animals or artificial sources due to medication. Vaccines provide systemic protection to infection by generating both cell-mediated and or humoral immune responses, with both primary and secondary responses and immunologic memory. Vaccinia virus finds application in human immunisation. Vaccines are important tools to prevent or contain disease with high morbidity or mortality including infections and cancer.