immunology – Dr Ramakanta's Ideas

Why do you have to take the influenza shots annually ?

While vaccines of many childhood diseases offer a lifetime of protection with only two or three shots early in life, this is not applicable to flu shots.

Why do you have to take the influenza shots annually ?

Variolation

The Great Plague of Athens : 430 BCE In 430 BC, a plague struck the city of Athens, which was then under siege by Sparta. We know that the city state of Sparta and Athens were at war for centuries. The word Marathon has originated from one such episode of war way back inContinue reading “Variolation”

Episode: Sarah and Jenner

( Jenner vaccinating a child while his assistant extracts the cow pox germ ) The second act of immunisation: Vaccination. Sarah was a beautiful woman. She took pride in her unblemished skin. She did not have a single pock mark yet. She worked as a milkmaid, delivering fresh milk to the country doctor, Edward Jenner.Continue reading “Episode: Sarah and Jenner”

The Most powerful medical picture of the Last Century

This is the most powerful picture of the last century. It features the fight of America against the Poliomyelitis epidemic of 1950. It also tells us the power of Vaccination It was taken inside the auditorium of a Medical College of Los Angeles, California in 1953. The chairs have been removed to accommodate 33 IronContinue reading “The Most powerful medical picture of the Last Century”

Katalin Kariko

There is hardly any difference between a RNA virus and a mRNA vaccine. Both consist of a strand of RNA surrounded by a lipid envelop. RNA viruses are there for billions of years infecting all forms of life, algae, plants and animals. Thus life has developed astute mechanism of shaking of unwanted RNAs. Every tissueContinue reading “Katalin Kariko”