INIM5022: Semester 2, 2020

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Units INIM5022 Semester 2 2020 [Normal day]

Unit outline_

INIM5022: Global Control of Infectious Diseases

Semester 2, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

This unit of study will provide students with knowledge about detection, monitoring and control of existing and emerging pathogens, and with the necessary skills to plan epidemic preparedness strategies, to identify optimal approaches for communicable disease prevention, containment or eradication and to evaluate their effectiveness. This module offers a multidisciplinary framework for understanding the principles of interventions against infectious diseases and focuses on the study of global infectious disease threats in the context of their routes of transmission and potential intervention strategies, as well as the reasons for the success or failure of control programs. The core of this unit is a series of lectures, practical demonstrations and problem-solving tutorials describing real-life examples of diagnostic and surveillance strategies and vaccination policies, community outbreak investigations and epidemic/pandemic preparedness planning. A significant proportion of the lectures are delivered by invited expert infectious disease practitioners and laboratory scientists. The main principles will be illustrated using examples from pandemic and seasonal influenza, arbovirus diseases, tuberculosis, zoonotic and food- and water-borne bacterial infections. A large portion of this unit is based at the State public health reference laboratories of the Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research (NSW Health Pathology) at Westmead Hospital, Sydney Medical School - Westmead Campus.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Infectious Diseases and Immunology
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	Undergraduate bacteriology and virology; basic concepts of epidemiology
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Vitali Sintchenko, vitali.sintchenko@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam (Open book)	Final examination Long answer and short answer questions	40%	Formal exam period	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Small continuous assessment	Laboratory work/participation Participation	20%	Multiple weeks	n/a
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Seminar presentation In-class presentation	20%	Week 06	To be added by the unit coordinator
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay Written assessment	20%	Week 12	3000 words
Outcomes assessed:
= Type C final exam ?

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Control of communicable diseases: principles and methods	Lecture (1 hr)
	Biology and control of vectors	Lecture (1 hr)
	Public Health Laboratory Network case definitions	Seminar (1 hr)
	Travellers as sentinels for emerging infectious diseases	Seminar (1.5 hr)
Week 02	Vaccination strategies, vaccination programmes and their evaluation. Australian vaccination program	Lecture (1 hr)
	Prevention of infections in immunocompromised	Lecture (1 hr)
	Virulence and fitness of bacterial pathogens: evolutionary role and public health implications	Seminar (1 hr)
	Utility of genome sequencing in outbreak investigations	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 03	Syndromic surveillance, use of electronic means in infectious disease surveillance	Lecture (1 hr)
	Global control of malaria	Lecture (1 hr)
	Point of care testing for diseases with epidemic potential	Practical (2 hr)
Week 04	Global control of HIV	Lecture (1 hr)
	Drug resistant tuberculosis	Lecture (1 hr)
	Serosurveillance of vaccine preventable diseases	Practical (1.5 hr)
	Geographic information systems for surveillance	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 05	Controlling diseases caused by soil transmitted helminths	Lecture (1 hr)
	Typhoid: Global epidemiology and control	Lecture (1 hr)
	Culture-independent metagenomics	Seminar (1 hr)
	Epidemiology and surveillance of invasive pneumococcal infections	Practical (1.5 hr)
Week 06	Infectious diseases in conflict affected areas and during natural disasters	Lecture (1 hr)
	Pandemic influenza: Evolution and interventions	Lecture (1 hr)
	Self-directed learning: Journal club presentations	Independent study (2.5 hr)
Week 07	Neglected diseases: Leprosy and Buruli ulcer	Lecture (1 hr)
	Disease prevention: Food- & water-borne diseases Typhoid: Global epidemiology and control	Lecture (1.5 hr)
	Modelling of influenza epidemics	Practical (2 hr)
Week 08	Childhood and drug-resistant tuberculosis: Global perspective	Lecture (1 hr)
	Surveillance for antibiotic resistance. Role of biodiversity and genetics of bacteria	Lecture (1 hr)
	Challenges of controlling legionella diseases	Seminar (1.5 hr)
Week 09	Neglected infectious diseases: Sleeping Sickness and filariasis. Role of disease containment strategies	Lecture (1 hr)
	Molecular mechanisms of vaccine escape	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Childhood pneumonia and meningitis. WHO Sustainable Development Goals: Strategies to reduce child mortality	Lecture (1 hr)
	Evolution of cholera pandemics	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 10	Specialised national and international surveillance programs (PulseNet/SeqNet)	Lecture (1 hr)
	Control of infectious diseases during mass gatherings	Lecture (1 hr)
	Potential agents of bioterrorism. Responses to bioterrorism: laboratory, epidemiology and surveillance	Seminar (1 hr)
	Bioinformatics tools for genome comparisons: Markers of drug resistance in bacteria	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 11	Global control of viral hepatitis	Lecture (1 hr)
	One Health concept and emerging infectious diseases	Lecture (1 hr)
	Typing of pathogens (VNTR typing and genome sequencing of Mycobacteria)	Practical (2.5 hr)
Week 12	Disease eradication programs: Lessons learnt from Smallpox	Lecture (1 hr)
	Control of COVID-19 Pandemic: lessons learnt	Lecture (1 hr)
	Added value of genomic surveillance for SARS-CoV-2	Lecture (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: The Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology requires satisfactory class attendance as
part of participation in a unit of study. Attendance below of 80% of tutorials/seminars without written evidence of illness or misadventure may be penalised with loss of marks. The University
does not recognise employment as excuse for unsatisfactory performance.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library eReserve, available on Canvas.

Required reading:
- Webber R. Communicable disease epidemiology and control: A global perspective. CABI Publishing, 2012
- Communicable Diseases 2000: Highlights of activities in 1999 and major challenges for the future. WHO, 2000
- Infectious disease movement in a borderless world/Workshop Summary. Institute of Medicine, The National Academies Press, 2010
- Kimball AM. Risky Trade: Infectious disease in the era of global trade. Ashgate, 2006
- M’ikanatha NM et al (Eds). Infectious disease surveillance. Blackwell Publishing, 2007
- Sanders JW, Fuhrer GS, Johnson MD, Riddle MS. The epidemiological transition: The current status of infectious diseases in the developed world versus the developing world. Science Progress 2008;91(1):1-38

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. explore the utility of eradication programmes based on vaccination and mass drug administration
LO2. understand the importance of border control and refugee health in protecting public health, and travellers, as sentinel for emerging infectious diseases
LO3. understand the importance of case definitions, test sensitivity, and specificity in laboratory based surveillance.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

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