Pig glossary
Immunity
The abilit, natural or acquired, of an organism to resist a particular infection or toxin by the action of specific antibodies or sensitized white blood cells. These defenses have the virtue of remaining once the animal has recovered from the disease, so when it comes into contact with the same microorganism, it will have the defenses already "built" and it will react in a much quicker way.
Active immunity
They are the defenses produced by the body of the animal to fight the microorganisms that can cause infections. After coming into contact with infectious agents, the animal ‘builds’ defenses against them that will protect it from future contacts.
Passive immunity
They are the defenses that the animal receives from an external source: this is, from its dam through the colostrum or by means of the use of vaccines. In this case, the animal does nor ‘build’ defenses, but receives them from an external source.