Question: what type of vaccines are created for certain bacteria or microorganism

Clio Andreae answered on 20 Nov 2019:

There are several vaccines that have been created against different types of bacteria and more in the pipeline. You’ll have been vaccinated against meningitis as a child, which is caused by Neisseria meningitidis. Others include those against Cholera, typhoid, Antrax and Strep pneumoniae.

Bacterial vaccinations are largely based on different proteins that the bacteria or parts of their outer membrane or a ‘live’ vaccine which is a form of the bacteria that won’t be as dangerous. The protein based vaccines tend to be design against those bacteria proteins that are seen by our immune system. These generate a immune response (producing antibodies) that allow our bodies to recognise the bacterial proteins and stop them from working. There are several different types of vaccinations for meningitis and streptococcus pneumoniae as there are many different varieties of the same bacteria, which are known as serotypes. Vaccines against bacteria tend to be against those that are very dangerous to infants or have a very rapid progress of infection (24 hours from first symptoms in meningitis which is why it’s crucial babies are vaccinated against it). Pregnant mothers can also be vaccinated against some bacterial infections to protect their baby when it is born, as the mother will produce antibodies that will get passed to the baby in the womb. I worked on new vaccine candidates for meningitis as part of my postdoctoral research to find candidates to increase the coverage of the vaccines we currently have.