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pentavalent

pentavalent

6.8
A vaccine that protects against five different diseases
  • adjective
  • /ˌpɛntəˈveɪlənt/
  • Specialized
: vacuna pentavalente
  • Doctors recommend the pentavalent vaccine for infants to provide broader protection.

And there is substantial progress now with more and more countries moving toward the use of the pentavalent vaccine.

Examples

  • And there is substantial progress now with more and more countries moving toward the use of the pentavalent vaccine.

  • They put another human gene in but and a bovine, but a pentavalent vaccine and that's called Rotatec.

  • The new pentavalent vaccine is effective against five major childhood diseases.

  • The introduction of the pentavalent vaccine has significantly reduced the incidence of several infectious diseases.

Surface Forms

pentavalent positive

Morphology

pentavalent = valent (transparent) = penta + valent

Compositionally 'penta-' (five) + '-valent' (having valence/capacity); extended usage to vaccines meaning 'containing five components' is predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Pentavalent combines penta- meaning 'five' (like pentagon) and -valent from the Latin valere meaning 'to be strong' or 'have power'. So a pentavalent vaccine is one that has five parts to protect against five different diseases in a single injection.