In: Biology
Define susceptibility, resistance, non-specific resistance, and specific resistance in regards to immunity
SUSCEPTIBILITY
A person is said to be susceptible to infections when he/she is easily affected by a foreign pathogen. These individuals usually have weak immunity or are allergic to certain pathogens.
RESISTANCE
Resistance -as the name signifies- refers to body's defense or ability to prevent foreign pathogens. In simple words, it can be defined as body's ability to resist a disease or an infection.
NON-SPECIFIC RESISTANCE
Non- specific resistance refers to the body's defense system that will provide protection against any type of foreign pathogen(bacteria, virus etc). Innate immunity (includes barriers like skin, mucous membranes) which is also known as first line of defense is an example of non-specific resistance.
SPECIFIC RESISTANCE
Specific resistance refers to the body's defense system which produces special cells to fight against a certain type of infection. Adaptive immunity, produces memory cells when a foreign pathogen is encountered for the first time, followed by a strong immune response(by production of antibodies) when the same pathogen is encountered for the second time. This type of immune response is an example of specific resistance.