The public health nurse is providing education to farmworkers on primary prevention strategies. Which of the following is an example of primary prevention?

Choice A reason: A tetanus booster every 10 years stimulates immunity before infection occurs, a hallmark of primary prevention. It targets Clostridium tetani, preventing toxin production that causes muscle spasms, leveraging the immune system’s memory cells to neutralize the bacteria preemptively, reducing disease incidence effectively.

Choice B reason: Tetanus immunoglobulin provides immediate antibodies post-exposure, a passive immunity approach, not primary prevention. It neutralizes existing toxins from Clostridium tetani after a nail puncture, acting as a secondary measure to halt disease progression rather than preventing infection onset proactively.

Choice C reason: Screening for tetanus infection involves testing for Clostridium tetani presence or symptoms, a secondary prevention tactic. It identifies disease early for treatment, not prevention, focusing on detecting toxin-producing bacteria after exposure rather than building immunity to stop infection initially.

Choice D reason: Administering antibiotics and seizure precautions treats active tetanus, a tertiary prevention strategy. It addresses Clostridium tetani infection and toxin effects like lockjaw after onset, aiming to reduce complications and severity, not to prevent the disease from occurring initially.

Choice A reason: Acquired immunity includes any immunity gained post-birth, like via vaccines or infection. It’s broad, encompassing this scenario, but less specific than active immunity, which details the body’s direct response to measles antigens, producing antibodies and memory cells for long-term protection explicitly.

Choice B reason: Active immunity occurs when vaccinations trigger the immune system to produce antibodies against measles virus antigens. This process, involving B and T cells, builds memory, offering lasting protection, distinguishing it from passive or natural methods by its active, self-generated response biologically and effectively.

Choice C reason: Herd immunity arises when most of a population is immune, reducing measles spread indirectly. Vaccination contributes, but this describes a community effect, not the individual immunity type gained directly from the shot, which is the question’s specific focus here distinctly.

Choice D reason: Natural immunity follows actual measles infection, not vaccination. It involves the body fighting the live virus, unlike the controlled antigen exposure from shots, which mimics this process artificially, making it less applicable to the immunity type described in this scenario fully.