Thursday, December 27, 2012

name some bacteria showing antigenic variations


Antigenic variation seen in: 
1. N.gonorrhea
2. Borellia
3. Influenza
4. HIV
5. Trypanosome


Antigenic variation refers to the mechanism by which an infectious organism such as a protozoan, bacterium or virus alters its surface proteins in order to evade a host immune response.

Immune evasion is particularly important for organisms that target long-lived hosts, repeatedly infect a single host and are easily transmittable.

Antigenic variation not only enables immune evasion by the pathogen, but also allows the microbes to cause re-infection, as their antigens are no longer recognized by the host's immune system.

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