Infection and Response

Infection and Response covers communicable disease, the four types of pathogen, how the body defends itself, vaccination, antibiotics and the development of new drugs. Triple students also study monoclonal antibodies and plant disease.

The unit divides cleanly. Learn the pathogen types with a named example of each first, then the body's defences, then how medicine intervenes. The immune response is where precision matters: white blood cells engulf pathogens, produce antibodies and produce antitoxins, and questions expect the correct term rather than a general description. Vaccination questions almost always ask about memory cells and the speed of the secondary response. A frequent error is claiming antibiotics kill viruses — they do not, and this is examined deliberately. Drug trial questions expect placebo, double-blind and the three phases of testing.