Final answer:
Active immunity is developed when a person is exposed to a pathogen or vaccinated, causing their body to produce antibodies; this can occur via natural infection or through vaccination. Passive immunity, on the other hand, involves receiving pre-made antibodies from another source, such as maternal antibodies or blood products like antitoxins.
Step-by-step explanation:
Active and Passive Immunity
Active immunity refers to the immunity that an individual develops after exposure to a disease-causing organism or after vaccination. In both cases, the body produces an immune response which involves producing antibodies or activating immune cells against the pathogen.
Two ways this can happen are through natural infection, where a person acquires immunity after being exposed to the live pathogen, and vaccination, where a person receives a vaccine that contains a dead or attenuated (weakened) form of the pathogen or parts of the pathogen, such as proteins or mRNA.
Conversely, passive immunity occurs when a person is given someone else's antibodies, rather than producing them through their own immune system.
This form of immunity can come from maternal antibodies passed to a baby through the placenta or in breast milk, or by receiving antibody-containing blood products like immunoglobulins or antitoxins, often as a means of providing immediate protection from a specific disease.