Infectious Diseases

Module Aims:

This module aims to provide the student with an introduction to the key concepts in infectious disease epidemiology and their applications to the control of infectious diseases. The fundamentals of disease surveillance will be covered in addition to the principles and methods involved in field epidemiology and outbreak investigation. An understanding of the application of epidemiology to infectious disease control will be developed and illustrated for a range of different infections and control measures.

 

Module Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

1. Describe and discuss why and how infectious disease epidemiology is different
2. Discuss the principles and practice of infectious disease surveillance
3. Plan and discuss methods for outbreak investigations
4. Understand the principles of vaccine programme design and evaluate vaccine effectiveness
5. Describe the principles and practice of control of sexually transmitted infections
6. Critically evaluate emergency preparedness and response plans and activities
7. Discuss the challenge of antimicrobial resistance and strategies for addressing it
8. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the application of a one-health approach to zoonotic infections.

 

Pre-requisites: Principles of Epidemiology, Principles of Biostatistics (or Statistics for HDS), Principles of Public Health.

Teaching Strategy: A combination of lectures, group practical work, problem-based activities and structured reading.

Assessment: Written assignment answering a series of questions

 

Module Length: 4 days