Final answer:
Patients with humoral immunity problems are particularly susceptible to respiratory and gastrointestinal infections due to impaired B cell function. Conditions like hypogammaglobulinemia and chronic granulomatous disease can lead to serious infections and complications.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a patient has a problem with their humoral immunity, they are prone to infections primarily from pathogens that are typically targeted by antibodies, such as certain bacteria and viruses. The humoral immune response involves mainly B cells and takes place in blood and lymph, producing antibodies that target specific pathogens.
Inherited conditions like hypogammaglobulinemia and agammaglobulinemia affect B cells and can result in repeated respiratory and gastrointestinal infections or severe infections early in life, respectively. Additionally, immunodeficiency can be acquired, with the immune system becoming less effective as people age, leading to a general increase in disease susceptibility.
Patients with chronic granulomatous disease, for example, lack functioning phagocytes, and therefore, they may experience unrestricted bacterial infections in the blood which can lead to serious complications.
Moreover, systemic infections like those from the varicella-zoster virus indicate that the disease has spread throughout the body, and such widespread infections are particularly dangerous for individuals with compromised humoral immunity, such as those with HIV or damage from a primary influenzavirus infection.
In a scenario where a patient lacks functioning T cells due to a genetic disorder, their B cells would typically struggle to produce antibodies in response to an infection, as T cell help is often needed for optimal B cell antibody production. Hence, problems in the humoral immune response can significantly impair the body's ability to fight off pathogens leading to increased vulnerability to infections.