**2. Vaccination**

Vaccination is the most cost-effective way to protect the public against undesirable medical conditions that can result in acute or chronic ailments. Vaccination by active immunization can prevent serious infectious and contagious diseases from occurring; and vaccination by passive immunization can neutralize existing disease causing/contributing agents (Hjelm et al., 2006; Imbach et al., 1981; Leandro & de, I, 2009; Levesque, 2009; Pirofsky & Kinzey, 1992; Segal et al., 1999). However, neither vaccination technique has been successfully implemented to date to achieve preventative or curative immune response outcomes in endogenous ag initiated and maintained disorders. It has been evident for a number of years that a technique other than those applied to diseases caused by exogenous ags is needed. The danger of using components derived from endogenous ags and causing added complications (e.g. autoimmune disease) has presented obstacles in the search for solutions (Finn & Forni, 2002; Peakman & Dayan, 2001). However, a better understanding of naturally occurring immune events, particularly pathogenic and non-pathogenic immune responses against self (Barabas et al., 2008b) - where the terms "pathogenic" and "non-pathogenic" do not equate with the terms "harmful" and "beneficial" - within the concept of autoimmunity promises to provide a framework for creating new possibilities for designing prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines for mishaps caused by or involving endogenous ags.
