[Charles]

A vaccine is a special preparation of biological elements that enhances immune system in the body of the host against a particular disease. Usually a vaccine contains a disease causing agent which induces immune system of the body by producing antibodies against those agents in the body. Those disease causing agents remain in the killed or nonfunctional attenuated form in the vaccine. So they do not create any disease in the host but are very much effective to create specific immune system in the host cell. At first the term vaccine was used by Edward Jenner in 1796 from the Latin name of cowpox causing agent variolæ vaccine. Vaccines can be of two types, some vaccines are developed to prevent the further infection by the causal agent who is called prophylactic and some vaccines are therapeutic such as vaccines to prevent cancer which still remains under investigation.

Gene’s expression of microbial cells is from pathogens which encode surface antigens. Neutralizing antibodies are induced in the host of the pathogen by those antigens. This technique is the most elementary application of genetic engineering in vaccine development. This technique is developed in the preparation of hepatitis B vaccine successfully. HBV vaccine is now used widely all around the world.

Preparation of vaccine is not so easy now. It needs to know some fundamental matters such as virulence determination, antigenic variation, response against viral antigens etc. In the primitive stage of vaccine application, antigen from the causing agents are directly injected into the host body. It was very harmful for human body. Now we are living in the time of genetic engineering where safe and secured life is ensured to everybody as much as possible. So vaccines are now prepared in the simplest and safe way by genetic engineering.

Like all the products of biotechnology and genetic engineering, vaccines have created a wide business environment all around the world. Vaccine preparation and manufacturing are now a leading areas for the young scientists and scientific companies. They are not only committed to give us the vaccines of seasonal influenza but also promised to give us vaccines of crucial diseases such as cancer or AIDS as early as possible. This worldwide leading area has also involved to create bioterrorism. So vaccination is a confusing matter for the people of third world countries. Till now vaccines business is a high risk business considering their low price and short lifetime. Competition amongst the vaccines exported companies, low efficiency of the vaccine manufacturers and commercial thinking greater than humanity are responsible for the bad affects on this sensitive business.

Businessmen are now trying to improve and manipulate vaccines in a better way so they introduce new innovation in the field of vaccines. Vaccines are now developed in combination with dendrite cell to work efficiently in the white blood cells for stimulating immune system. Recombinant vectors are used as vaccine in the host body’s cell receptor peptide vaccines are now under research. Bacterial proteins are developed in bacterial virulence mechanism by complement inhibition reaction. So vaccines manipulated by the genetic engineering can be the most essential tools for human body in the upcoming times.