Vaccination, anthrax
A series of six shots over six months and booster shots annually, the anthrax vaccine now in use in the USA was first developed in the 1950s and approved by the Food and Drug Administration for general use in 1970. It is produced by the Michigan Biologic Products Institute of Michigan’s Department of Health and is given routinely to veterinarians and others working with livestock. In December, 1997 it was announced that all US military would receive the vaccine, as do the military in the UK and Russia, the reason being concern that anthrax might be used in biologic warfare.
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- Vaccination
Injection of a killed microbe in order to stimulate the immune system against the microbe, thereby preventing disease. Vaccinations, or immunizations, work by stimulating the immune system, the natural disease-fighting system of the body. The healthy immune system is able to recognize invading bacteria and viruses and produce substances (antibodies) to destroy or disable them. […]
- VCUG
Voiding cystourethrography. Or voiding cystourethrogram.
- VDRL test
A blood test for syphilis (VDRL stands for Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) that detects an antibody that is present in the bloodstream when a patient has syphilis. A negative (nonreactive) VDRL is compatible with a person not having syphilis, but in the early stages of the disease, the VDRL often gives false negative results. Conversely, […]
- Vector
In medicine, a carrier of disease or of medication. For example, in malaria a mosquito is the vector that carries and transfers the infectious agent. In molecular biology, a vector may be a virus or a plasmid that carries a piece of foreign DNA to a host cell.
- Vector, cloning
A fragment of DNA into which another DNA fragment can be integrated. Cloning vectors are used to introduce foreign DNA into host cells, where that DNA can be reproduced (cloned) in large quantities. Examples of cloning vectors are plasmids, cosmids, bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs), and yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs).