Question

Identify the substance in the polio vaccine makes it effective?

Answer 1

Answer:

A polio antigen

Explanation:

The substance in the polio vaccine that makes it effective in the mitigation of the disease is the polio antigen.

An antigen is any substance that is capable of eliciting an immune response in an individual through the production of antibodies.

Antigens could be of two types;

• foreign or hetero antigens
• self or auto antigens

Foreign antigens are those whose sources are from outside of the body while self antigens are those within the body, a characteristic of people with auto-immune diseases.

The polio vaccine contains polio antigens which is an inactivated or weakened form of the pathogen responsible for causing the polio disease.