An individual’s resistance to a specific disease or infection depends upon the presence in the body of protective chemical substances called antibodies.

When the body produces its own antibodies, it is termed active immunity. Active immunity results from having an infectious disease or from receiving an injection or inoculation of biological medication that induces an immune response.

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Active immunity may develop in days or weeks, but the protection received will last for relatively long periods. Another type of immunity, described as passive, is acquired. This immunity results from the body receiving serum that contains antibodies that have been preformed in humans or animals. Although this serum confers immediate protection, the immunity does not last as long.

Passive immunity does not stimulate antibody formation.