Glossary terms with V

A vaccine stimulates the immune system to develop a protective immune response against a specific pathogen or disease.

Vancomycin is an antibiotic used to treat infections with Gram-positive bacteria (e.g. streptococci or staphylococci).

Viral hepatitis is an infection caused by hepatitis viruses that damages the liver.

Viral load refers to the amount of a virus or its genetic material in a specific volume of a biological sample, such as blood or plasma.

Vector vaccines use modified viruses as carriers to deliver genetic information for an antigen into bodily cells, thereby triggering a protective immune response.

Viremia refers to the presence of viruses in the blood. Viruses can spread throughout the body via the bloodstream and reach other organs or tissues.

Virulence describes the extent of a pathogen’s disease-causing properties.