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Unit of study_
AVBS3005: Animal Health and Disease
2025 unit information
The ability for animals to live a healthy and productive life free of disease is essential to sustain farming and natural animal populations. In animal health and disease you will apply principles of animal management to optimise animal health and minimise the incidence and severity of disease, based on host, pathogens and environmental interactions. You will analyse epidemiological approaches to investigate diseases in animal populations and management strategies that are frequently employed to sustain a healthy flock or herd. The management of current diseases relevant to production animals, wildlife and emergency diseases of relevance to Australia, will be explored. You will gain practical experience in the handling and health-based management of cattle, sheep and poultry, and will have the opportunity to visit farms, an animal health research facility or an animal disease diagnostics laboratory. By doing this unit you will be able to explain and justify practical approaches and procedures used to augment animal health and minimise the incidence and severity of disease. Risk assessments are regularly conducted for units that require the completion of compulsory learning activities that may expose students to zoonotic diseases. These assessments aim to identify appropriate risk mitigation controls, such as vaccination against vaccine- preventable zoonoses. Vaccination against Q fever (Coxiella burnetii) is an inherent requirement for students enrolling in this unit of study. Students must be vaccinated against Q fever before commencing the unit or no later than week one of the enrolled teaching session. Q fever vaccination is only available in Australia with the vaccination process taking three weeks to complete. Students must also submit a Q fever Vaccination Declaration upon enrolment. Students who fail to receive vaccination by the specified deadline and/or submit a Q fever Vaccination Declaration are precluded from practical learning activities and will not be able to satisfactorily complete relevant units of study and/or progress in their course more generally. Please refer to the University’s website https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/q-fever-vaccinations.html for more information on student vaccinations.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Science
| Study level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Life and Environmental Sciences Academic Operations |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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12 credit points from (AVBS2001 or IMMU2X11 or MEDS2004 or MIMI2X02) or [6 credit points from (AVBS2001 or IMMU2X11 or MEDS2004 or MIMI2X02) and 6 credit points from (BIOL2XXX or MICR2XXX)] |
|---|---|
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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AVBS4001 |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. apply epidemiological principles to the investigation and control of disease in an animal population
- LO2. identify variations from normal physiology that are indicative of a pathogen incursion or metabolic imbalance including emergency disease in animals including sheep, cattle, poultry and wildlife
- LO3. justify animal management strategies employed to optimise animal health and reduce the incidence of disease based on a broad understanding of the physiological response of animals to infectious and non-infectious agents
- LO4. investigate diseases of consequence to the production of wool, meat, milk, eggs and fish and, be able to explain and justify based on host, pathogen and environmental interactions, intervention strategies utilised to alleviate or prevent disease and to facilitate improved animal welfare.
- LO5. critically evaluate and contribute to the formulation of plans for management of diseases of wildlife populations, with consideration of social, economic, ecological, livestock and human health issues
- LO6. develop communication skills that are articulate, evidence based and appropriate for the audience, facilitating effective communication with all animal health stakeholders
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Semester 1 2025
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Normal day | Camden, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
