ANTITOXIN

Antitoxin are antibodies found in the gamma globulin in blood protein. They are formed to inactivate poisons, or toxins, caused by infecting bacteria or other living organism. In tetanus, for example, tetanus antitoxin can neutralized toxin that causes muscle spasm and convulsions before it is bound to nerve cells.

Antitoxins can be obtained from the blood of a human who has survived the disease; from the blood of animals (usually horses) that have been injected with either the bacterium or the toxin; and from the injection of toxoid , a bacterial culture that has been rendered noninfective but that retains enough characteristic to be antigenic, or capable of stimulating antibody production is too slow after toxoid use, and an antitoxin is injected, as in tetanus or botulism. Injections of toxoids that prevent diphtheria and tetanus are usually given in the early years of life, with ‘boosters’ at appropriate intervals, thus avoiding the need for antitoxin.

Related articles:

Vaccination

Function of Immune System