The COVID-19 pandemic has made people very concerned about health, especially the immune system. Have you ever thought, how can the immune system in animals fight the virus? It turns out that some animals have stronger immune systems.
Immunity is the ability of animals and humans to repel toxins and invasive microbes. This is achieved by the immune system which gives it the ability to fight disease -causing microorganisms.
The immune system is a complex network of cells and organs that work together to fight germs and toxins until living things die.
How the immune system works in animals
Quoted from Science ABC, an animal’s immune system has two types of defenses: innate immunity and adaptive immunity. The two defense systems operate simultaneously, but in quite different ways to provide broad protection from toxins and microbes.
Each microorganism has a different pathogen -associated molecular pattern (PAMP). This PAMP is specific to a particular organism, just as a barcode is a unique pattern on a particular product.
PAMP is read by Pattern Recognition (PRR). These receptors are present in the bodies of all animals, with the sole purpose of scanning the PAMP, recognizing the organism and recognizing it.
The adaptive immune system is a more complex form of immunity, which is very specific to the type of animal. This adaptive immune response is mediated by T and B lymphocytes.
A T-cell is a type of immune cell that recognizes a potential pathogen and destroys it or signals it to another type of immune cell. While B cells, to produce antibodies against it. This response is then “remembered” by the animal’s immune system to confer immunity from certain pathogens.
Immunity between animals differs
There are factors that determine the immunity of living beings, namely external environmental factors such as habitat, type of food, drinking water, to the internal physiological conditions in the form of natural body temperature, body pH, and others.
For example, anthrax can kill humans, cattle, and deer, because the bacteria Bacillus anthracis produce toxins in their bodies. Make sure the chicken is completely immune to anthrax. The body temperature of chickens is high compared to humans, cattle, and deer, making bacteria unable to survive in them.
Another example is a different study when researchers froze crocodile serum. Alligators turn out to have a stronger antibacterial effect than human serum. This suggests that crocodile immunity provides more protection against bacteria than humans. The phenomenon exhibited by crocodile blood serum is now being studied in an effort to design new ways to fight antibiotic -resistant bacteria.
In conclusion
Therefore, some animals have more advanced immune systems than others. This is because each animal species faces different challenges to their survival, which causes their immune systems to adapt in different and very specific ways that are best suited for their survival.
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