Course Description
Global status, epidemiology and control of parasitic, viral, and bacterial diseases of major public health importance. Emphasis will be on the scientific, policy, and economic aspects of past, current, and future public health approaches to deal with these globally challenging infectious diseases from multiple and integrative perspectives.
Athena Title
GLOBAL INF DIS
Semester Course Offered
Offered summer semester every even-numbered year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The over all goal of the course is to provide the student with an appreciation of and perspectives on what is involved in trying to actually do something about the infectious disease scourges that plague the developing world, and how this impacts on industrialized nations. The primary objective of this course is to provide the student with an understanding of the public health approaches to parasitic, viral and bacterial infectious diseases of global health importance, including vaccines, treatment and vector control, at the village, district, country and international levels. The course will cover many of the major infectious diseases of global public health importance as case studies of the principles learned and it will use group discussions to engage students in working through the challenges that face the implementation of prevention or control programs related to these diseases. It is expected that the student will learn the public health fundamentals related to the use of approaches and tools used for the control and prevention of infectious diseases, and learn to think how different approaches and tools are needed to attack different infectious diseases in different settings. Students will also investigate the scientific, policy and economic aspects of these diseases that are the basis of the challenges to control and prevent these infections throughout the world. In addition, students will gain an appreciation and understanding of the public/private multi-agency interactive programs that are currently working to implement effective global control and prevention programs against these infectious disease threats.
Topical Outline
Lecture Outline I. Global perspectives on infectious diseases and their control II. Concepts of complex interactions of infectious diseases III. Vaccines, Vaccine-preventable diseases & the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) IV. Concepts and Implementation of Arthropod Vector Control V. Antimicrobial resistance (viral, bacterial, protozoal, helminthic) VI. Malaria VII. Mycobacterial diseases -- TB to Yaws VIII. HIV to Influenza to Guinea Worm (Dracunculiasis) IX. Trypanosomiasis (Chagas’ disease; Sleeping sickness) X. Water & Foodborne Viruses, Bacteria, Protozoa and Worms XI. The Blinding Infections (Trachoma and Onchocerciasis) XII. Lymphatic Filariasis/Taeniasis-Cysticercosis XIII. Soil Transmitted Helminths & Schistosomiasis XIV. Integration and the acceleration of control programs
Syllabus