One early Saturday morning, I turned on the TV and the live-action animated movie ʺOsmosis Jonesʺ was airing on HBO. This movie received very little fanfare. However, ʺOsmosis Jonesʺ is an educational and funny movie about immunity and how your body combats germs.
The movie features the unhygienic Frank, played by Bill Murray, and Chris Rock as the wise cracking white blood cell and policeman, ʺOsmosis Jones.ʺ Jones is a member of the ʺImmunityʺ community. Immunity is the body’s police force which repels and combats the evil forces of diseases.
In one scene, Osmosis Jones shakes down a virus which is in the virus protection program. (Previously, the virus was injected with the flu vaccine and he is now an informant.)
The movie highlights and features Jones’ search for the bad guy, a lethal virus which wreaks havoc on Frank’s body.
Think of the movie as the "Cliff notes" on how our bodies fight disease. Also, it is a fun way to teach your kids about the inner workings of our bodies work and how our bodies fight disease through immunity.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are two types of immunity. Passive immunity and active immunity are the two types of immunity.
But before we tackle immunity, let’s discuss antibodies.
Your body produces antibodies. These proteins are important because they play a vital role in protecting you against disease. The CDC’s website stated, ʺAntibodies are disease-specific. For example, measles antibody will protect a person who is exposed to measles disease, but will have no effect if he or she is exposed to mumps.ʺ
Now on to passive immunity.
Passive immunity can only last a few months or weeks. However, protection is immediate through passive immunity.
Passive immunity is when you receive antibodies to a disease. You do not produce these antibodies through your immune system.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, ʺPassive immunity is due to antibodies that are produced in a body other than your own. Infants have passive immunity because they are born with antibodies that are transferred through the placenta from their mother. These antibodies disappear between 6 and 12 months of age.ʺ
The U.S. National of Library of Medicine website also revealed, ʺPassive immunization may also be due to injection of antiserum, which contains antibodies that are formed by another person or animal.ʺ
Examples of passive immunity immunizations are tetanus or the immune serum globulin for hepatitis exposure.
Active immunity can last a lifetime. ʺ[This long-lasting immunity] results when exposure to a disease organism triggers the immune system to produce antibodies to that disease,ʺ said the CDC’s website.
You can gain active immunity through a vaccination or exposure to the organism which causes the disease. The vaccinations will contain a diluted or dead form of the diseased organism. If you make contact with the disease organism, your body identifies the organism and develops antibodies to protect you against the disease.
References:
Lymph and immunity. Estrella Mountain Community College. Retrieved December 28, 2011, from http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/biobk/biobookimmun.html
Immune response: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. Retrieved December 28, 2011, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000821.htm
Vaccines: Vac-Gen/Immunity Types. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved December 28, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/immunity-types.htm
Reviewed December 28, 2011
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith