Question

Provide an explanation in support of or refuting the following statement: Humans would never develop natural immunity to a novel biological agent created in a laboratory

Answer 1

Natural immunity is present in a person’s body at birth itself and it occurs as a part of an individual’s natural genetic makeup. Artificial immunity refers to the immunity obtained from the development of antibodies in response to a specific antigen.

Novel biological agents created in a laboratory can pose substantial risks. An accidental infection may trigger outbreaks that would be impossible to control.

When a foreign body invades the body, the immune system responds to it immediately. The system is able to recognize the pathogen and a series of first responders arrive at the scene to fight the pathogens. This phase is known as natural immunity. But it does not provide long-lasting immunity to the host. Lower forms of life like fungi, plants, insects etc. rely on this type of immunity.

Natural immune responses are not specific to a particular pathogen in the way artificial responses are. They rely on a group of proteins and phagocytic cells that recognize certain conserved features of pathogens and become quickly activated to destroy the invading pathogens. Moreover, the mechanisms of natural immunity are specific for structures that are common to a group of related microbes. The immune system may not be able to distinguish fine differences between related pathogens. Hence, it is difficult to develop natural immunity against a unique biological agent created in a laboratory. Therefore, I feel the statement can be held true.