Book
Handling serums
- Types of serums
· There are many types of serums, most of which are prepared industrially, to prevent the transmission of blood diseases.
· Some of them are prepared in horses, after injecting them with the microbe, then the antibodies are extracted from the plasma, purified and packaged.
· Some serums may be prepared in volunteers, after conducting the necessary tests to ensure that they are free of diseases.
· The antibody used in serums is called globulin , and there are three main types: human, highly immune, and intravenous.
Human Immune Globulin
• This type of serum is prepared from serum or plasma extracted from a number of volunteers. It contains concentrated immunoglobulin of the IgG type, along with IgM and IgA, but in small amounts.
• It is stored at a temperature of 4°C.
• It starts to be effective in the body 48 hours after injection, and its effectiveness lasts for about three weeks.
• This serum is primarily used for the prevention of the following diseases: Hepatitis A, chickenpox, and rubella, particularly for pregnant women in the first three months of pregnancy. One of the drawbacks of this serum is that it provides temporary immunity, its effectiveness may vary from one type to another, it causes pain during intramuscular injection, and in some cases, it can cause severe allergic reactions.
Hyper immune globulin
• This type of serum is prepared from individuals who have a high level of antibodies specific to a particular disease. It is obtained from these patients during the recovery phase. It can also be prepared by stimulating the immune system of healthy individuals by giving them the vaccine for the disease. Examples of this type of serum include:
• Rabies serum, Hepatitis B serum, Tetanus serum, and Varicella-Zoster serum. One of its drawbacks is that it is painful during intramuscular injection, and it can also be accompanied by severe allergic reactions.
Intravenous Immune Globulin (IVIG)
• This type of serum is characterized by being administered via intravenous injection rather than intramuscular, which helps in giving large and repeated doses of the serum without causing pain. • For this reason, it is considered the best drug of choice for treating premature infants, those with low weight and growth, from bacterial and viral infections such as meningitis or AIDS.
• Despite the absence of pain during injection, the potential for allergic reactions remains a drawback of this serum.
