Immunisation to prevent infection, including HPV, hepatitis B and other STIs
How vaccines prevent infection (neutralising antibody, conjugation, herd immunity), worked vaccine effectiveness and herd immunity calculations, and the STI vaccines used in Australia (HPV, hepatitis B, hepatitis A, mpox, and 4CMenB for gonorrhoea).
Tier 2Medical sciences concept
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Most vaccines prevent infection by inducing neutralising antibody before exposure, and memory B and T cells that respond faster after it. Live vaccines also induce strong cytotoxic T-cell responses.
- Polysaccharide antigens are T-independent: poor in under-2s, no memory, no boosting. Conjugation to a protein carrier recruits T-cell help, giving memory and mucosal carriage reduction.
- Population effects (herd protection) depend on R0 and coverage. Paper 1 asks you to calculate them.
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Sources
- Australian Immunisation Handbook: Human papillomavirus (HPV)AU/NZAustralian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), updated January 2026
- Australian Immunisation Handbook: Hepatitis BAU/NZAustralian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), updated September 2026
- Australian Immunisation Handbook: Meningococcal disease (4CMenB and gonorrhoea)AU/NZAustralian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), updated September 2026
- Australian STI Management Guidelines for use in primary careAU/NZAustralasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM)
- Efficacy of single-dose human papillomavirus vaccination among young African women (KEN SHE)NEJM Evidence (Barnabas et al.), 2022
- Meningococcal B vaccine to prevent Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection (GoGoVax)AU/NZNew England Journal of Medicine (Seib et al.) 2026;395:349-61, 2026
- Doxycycline prophylaxis and meningococcal group B vaccine to prevent bacterial sexually transmitted infections in France (ANRS 174 DOXYVAC)Lancet Infectious Diseases (Molina et al.) 2024;24:1093-104, 2024
- Genital warts in young Australians five years into national human papillomavirus vaccination programme: national surveillance dataAU/NZBMJ (Ali et al.) 2013;346:f2032, 2013
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
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