Question

Anti-venom injection contains preformed antibodies while polio drops that are administered into body contain
(a) Activated pathogens
(b) Harvested antibodies
(c) Gamma globulin
(d) Attenuated pathogens

Answer 1

Hint: Oral polio vaccine contains attenuated (living but extremely weak) pathogens in contrast to anti-venom injections which contains antiserum (harvested antibodies) which is obtained from the snake poison and it is transferred to the person with a snake bite.

Complete answer:For more than 100 years anti-venoms are used as primary treatment for snake bites. They work by boosting our immune response after a snakebite and are made by immunizing donor animals such as horses or sheep with snake venoms. The antibodies from plasma produced by the donor animal are then harvested and purified for making anti-venoms and these antibodies are called as ‘performed antibodies'

Polio vaccines are administered to prevent poliomyelitis (polio) caused by polio virus. Two types are used: an inactivated poliovirus given by injection (IPV) and a weakened poliovirus given by mouth (OPV). Oral polio vaccine (OPV) is an attenuated vaccine, meaning that it is created by reducing the virulence (ability to infect a host ; infectivity) of a pathogen, but still keeping it viable. This is done by altering it in such a way that it becomes harmless or less virulent in contrast to the inactivated vaccine (produced by “killing the virus”)

Hence, Oral polio vaccine contains attenuated (living but extremely weak) pathogens

Note:The inactivated polio vaccines are very safe and show only mild redness or pain at the site of injection compared to Oral polio vaccines which may cause vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis per million doses given.
Few other examples of Attenuated vaccines are: Rotavirus vaccine, MMR vaccine, Nasal flu vaccine, Shingles vaccine, Chickenpox vaccine, BCG vaccine etc.