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General Description

Course name: Virginia Tech: Emerging Infectious Diseases. U. of MD: Special Topics in Veterinary Medical Sciences: Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Course description: The course will define and discriminate between emerging and other diseases, define spatial and temporal determinants, host and agent characteristics and risk factors, analyze social, economical and international trade changes, improper use of antibiotics, multi-drug resistant infectious agents as factors of emerging diseases. Selected emerging food-borne, bacterial, viral, zoonotic diseases of animals and humans will be described and analyzed. Third year standing in the DVM curriculum, good standing in a graduate studies program, undergraduate with instructor permission. (1H,1C)
Lectures: 15
Laboratories: None
Credits: One
Core, Directed Elective, or Elective: Elective
Course Number: Virginia Tech: VM9085/VMS5005.
U. of MD: VMSC688L
Transcript (ADP) Title: EMERG INFECT DISEASES.

Justification

Emerging bacterial, protozoal, viral diseases whether strictly animal or human or zoonotic pathogens, represent an increasing threat to animal and human health. Not withstanding the tremendous progress in understanding, diagnosing, preventing, treating and managing existing infectious diseases, it is becoming ever clearer that due to natural selection and appearance of new infectious agents, or in consequences of human actions, the war against infectious agents has not been won. This course will provide general and specific information for veterinary and graduate students who will or may be involved in serving animal and human health, thus fighting infectious diseases. The course relies and continues to build on any and all courses that are being taught at the undergraduate, professional (veterinary) and graduate level at Virginia Tech in life sciences, particularly in the field of animal and human health.
Goals: Increased awareness, understanding, knowledge and preparedness at the professional (veterinary) and graduate level among biologists, physicians, infectious disease specialists will be necessary to efficiently fight emerging infectious diseases. While majors will acquire specific, directly applicable working knowledge, non-majors will gain general understanding of the principles of emerging infectious diseases.

Prerequisites and Corequisites:

Veterinary students: third year standing in a DVM curriculum. Graduate students: acceptable standing in the graduate studies program of any higher education institution in the US or a higher education institution of a foreign country officially recognized by the US. Undergraduates: course leader permission.
Acceptance judged by course leader.

Texts and Special Teaching Aids:

No published text is required. Faculty will provide special notes for their lectures.

Recommended Reading Material, Published Textbooks.
  1. Evolution of Infectious Disease. Ewald PW. Oxford University Press, New York. 1994. ISBN 0-19-511139-7.
  2. Emerging Infections 1. Scheld WM, Armstrong D and Hughes JM, Editors. ASM Press, Washinton, DC. 1998. ISBN 1-55581-123-3.
  3. Emerging Infections 2. Scheld WM, Craig WA and Hughes JM, Editors. ASM Press, Washington, DC. 1998. ISBN 1-55581-141-8.
  4. Pathology of Emerging Infections. Horsburgh, CR Jr and Nelson AM, Editors. ASM Press, Washington, DC. 1997. ISBN 1-55581-20-5.
  5. Pathology of Emerging Infections 2. Nelson AM and Horsburgh, CR Jr, Editors. ASM Press, Washington, DC. 1998. ISBN 1-55581-140-X.
  6. Emerging Viruses. Morse SS, Editor. Oxfor University Press, New York. 1993. ISBN 0-19-510484-6.
  7. Of Mice, Men, and Microbes Hantavirus. Herper DR and Meyer AS. Academic Press, New York. 1999. ISBN 0-12-326460-X.
  8. Marburg and Ebola Viruses. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, 235. Klenk HD, Editor. Springer, New York. 1999. ISBN 3-540-64729-5.
  9. Dengue Viruses. Schlesinger RW. Springer, New York. 1977. ISBN 0-387-81406-X.
Recommended Reading Material, Journals
  1. Emerging Infectious Diseases. US Department of Health and Human Services. Four issues per year. Issues from Volume 1, 1995 are maintained by Dr. T. Toth. Inquire for reading or possible loan at ttoth@vt.edu

Course Presentation

This is an online course. The lectures are delivered via asynchronous streaming video, accessible via the course website or the two CDs accompanying this course. Questions regarding lecture content are to be emailed to the respective lecturer, whose email address accompanies the lecture.


Access to Class Material

Lectures can be accessed via RealOne or RealPlayer at the convenience of the student. There is no special order for these lectures, therefore content may be viewed in whatever order the student wishes. Any questions concerning the lectures should be directed, via e-mail, to the instructor of the specific lecture. Class notes can be viewed via web browser and handouts can be viewed via Adobe Acrobat. Students will need to download both RealOne/RealPlayer and Adobe Acrobat to view the lectures and handouts. If you have any trouble accessing course material, please contact Gary Whitt.

Grading Policies and Standards

There will be one final exam with 3 multiple choice questions for each of the 15 lectures for a total of 45 questions. Each question has 5 choices, with 1 correct answer. The final exam will be administered in person at the conclusion of the course. This exam constitutes the only mandatory, in-person attendance by students. The course is graded P/F(64%=P), at VT and A-F in MD, as per State and University requirements.

Lectures:

Subject Percent  
1. Introduction, highlights, concepts, definition of emerging diseases, description of host, agent characteristics. 15  
2. Pathology of emerging infectious diseases. 6  
3. Food-borne, bacterial and zoonotic diseases of animals and humans. 20  
4. Viral and protozoal diseases of horses. 14  
5. Viral diseases of swine. 6  
6. Viral and bacterial diseases of poultry. 5  
7. Viral diseases of wild-life species. 14  
8. A viral disease of cattle. 6  
9. Viral diseases of humans. 14  
Total 100  

EID CD1

Instructor Lecture Title, Subject
Elvinger, F
LACS Blacksburg
Definition of Emerging Disease
  • 1. Infectious diseases
  • 2. Non-infectious: toxic, occupational diseases
  • 3. Qualification and quantification of emerging disease
  • 4. Differentiation of emerging and resurging (reemerging) disease
  • 5. Public, Animal, Plant health
Elvinger, F
LACS Blacksburg
Emerging Disease Patterns
  • 1. Spatial and temporal patterns
  • 2. Determinants of emerging disease Host: change in demographics
    • 2.1 Pathogen: origins, adaptation, change (genotypic and phenotypic)
  • 3. Environment: climatologic, geographic, topographic, ecologic
  • 4. Host-pathogen interface
  • 5. Prevention Goals (CDC, OIE, USDA:APHIS and others): Surveillance, applied control infrastructure
Smith, BJ
 DBSP Blacksburg
 Pathology of Emerging Infectious Diseases
  • 1. Characteristics of emerging diseases similar to and different from 'stable' diseases.
    • 1.1 Pathogenesis
    • 1.2 Clinical pathology
    • 1.3 Gross pathology
    • 1.4 Microscopic pathology
  • 2. Recent developments in diagnostic techniques.
    • 2.1 Immunohistologic techniques
    • 2.2 Molecular biologic techniques
    • 2.3 In situ hybridization
    • 2.4 Polymerase chain reaction
Pelzer, KD
LACS Blacksburg
 Emerging Food Borne Diseases due to Global Ecological, Economical, and Trade Changes.
  • 1. Changes in Human Demographics and Behavior
    • 1.1 Immune impaired populations
      • 1.1.1 Older population
      • 1.1.2 Aids
      • 1.1.3 Chemotherapy
      • 1.1.4 Medical Interventions
    • 1.2 Eating habits
      • 1.2.1 Increase of fresh vegetables
      • 1.2.2 Home vs. Non-home preparation
    • 1.3 Food preparation
      • 1.3.1 Cooking education.
      • 1.3.2 Time for preparation
    • 1.4 Education
      • 1.4.1 Competing health issues
  • 2. Changes in Industry and Technology
    • 2.1 Consolidation of industries
      • 2.1.1 Farming practices
      • 2.1.2 Slaughter practices
  • 3. Processing of foods
  • 4. Distribution of foods
  • 5. Changes in Travel and Commerce
    • 5.1 International travel
      • 5.1.1 Resident ethnic populations
    • 5.2 International trade laws
  • 6. Economic Development and Land Use
    • 6.1 Areas of food production
    • 6.2 Disposable income
Johnson-Ifearulundu, Y
Maryland
 Antibiotics: Use, Misuse, and Resistance
  • 1. Antibiotic Use and Misuse: Issues in the use of antibiotics
    • 1.1 Over-use
    • 1.2 Improper use
    • 1.3 Residue potential
    • 1.4 Sub-therapeutic doses and bacterial flora
  • 2. Mechanisms of Resistance: Transfer and Expression
    • 2.1 Natural Resistance vs. Acquired Resistance
    • 2.2 Mutations
    • 2.3 Plasmids
    • 2.4 Other Resistance Genes
    • 2.5 Physiologic Mechanisms of Drug Resistance
    • 2.6 Increased destruction of the drug
    • 2.7 Decreased activation of the drug
    • 2.8 Formation of an altered receptor
    • 2.9 Decreased permeability
    • 2.10 Increased level of an enzyme
  • 3. Emerging Patterns of Bacterial Resistance
    • 3.1 Enteric Bacteria
      • 3.1.1 agents
      • 3.1.2 treatments
      • 3.1.3 risk factors for resistance
      • 3.1.4 distribution of resistant strains
      • 3.1.5 public health implications
    • 3.2 Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis
      • 3.2.1 agents
      • 3.2.2 treatments
      • 3.2.3 risk factors for resistance
      • 3.2.4 distribution of resistant strains
      • 3.2.5 public health implications
    • 3.3 Opportunistic Infections
      • 3.3.1 typical agents
      • 3.3.2 treatments
      • 3.3.3 risk factors for resistance
      • 3.3.4 distribution of resistant strains
      • 3.3.5 public health implications
  • 4. Public Policy and Consumer Perceptions
    • 4.1 Regulations regarding veterinary use of antibiotics
    • 4.2 Current US health policy
    • 4.3 Current international policies
    • 4.4 Future trends in policy and perception
Inzana, TJ
DBSP Blacksburg
Emerging Zoonotic Bacterial Pathogens
  • 1. Bartonella spp.
    • 1.1 Lifecycle
    • 1.2 Transmission from animals to humans
    • 1.3 Pathogenesis
    • 1.4 Diagnosis and treatment
  • 2. Ehrlichia spp.
    • 2.1 Known lifecycles
    • 2.2 Relationship between animal and human pathogens
    • 2.3 Pathogenesis
    • 2.4 Diagnosis and treatment
  • 3. E. coli 0157:H7
    • 3.1 Normal habitat and lifecycle
    • 3.2 Transmission from animals to humans
    • 3.3 Pathogenesis
    • 3.4 Diagnosis and treatment
  • 4. Helicobacter spp.
    • 4.1 Normal hosts and lifecycle
    • 4.2 Transmission from animals to humans
    • 4.3 Pathogenesis
    • 4.4 Diagnosis and treatment
Robertson, JL
DBSP Blacksburg
Emerging Infectious Diseases in Horses: Serious Problems in the Past 25 Years
  • 1. Overview of important diseases in horses
    • 1.1 What are the most common medical and surgical problems
    • 1.2 How common are infectious diseases as causes of morbidity and mortality
    • 1.3 What infectious diseases of antiquity have not been controlled
    • 1.4 What has changed in the management of horses to control diseases
    • 1.5 What has changed in the management of horses to increase the emergence of disease
  • 2. Klebsiella genitalium infection Contagious equine metritis
    • 2.1 Emergence of CEM in the 1970s scope of the problem
    • 2.2 Factors involved in infection and spread of the disease
    • 2.3 Clinical signs of infection
    • 2.4 Gross and microscopic pathology
    • 2.5 Control strategies how effective are they
  • 3. Potomac horse fever Ehrlichia risticii
    • 3.1 Is this a new arrival or has this disease been present since Colonial times
    • 3.2 Factors favoring the development of equine ehrlichiosis
    • 3.3 Clinical signs of infection
    • 3.4 Gross and microscopic pathology
    • 3.5 Are control measures working
  • 4. Equine protozoal myelitis - Sarcocystis neurona
    • 4.1 The emergence of EPM as a major cause of equine neurological disease
    • 4.2 Epidemiology of EPM
    • 4.3 Clinical signs of infection
    • 4.4 Gross and microscopic pathology
    • 4.5 Can we control EPM
  • 5. What is on the horizon?
    • 5.1 A/equi/Jilin/1-89 a novel equine influenza virus
    • 5.2 Respiratory paramyxoviruses in Australia
Bowen, JM
LACS Blacksburg
Emerging Equine Diseases
  • 1. The effect of rapid transportation on the spread of equine disease
    • 1.1 Air transport
      • 1.1.1 Virus diseases
      • 1.1.2 Parasitic diseases
    • 1.2 Road transport
      • 1.2.1 Virus diseases
      • 1.2.2 Other host animals
  • 2. Old viruses, new hosts
    • 2.1 Morbillivirus
      • 2.1.1 Australia
      • 2.1.2 Africa
    • 2.2 EPM
      • 2.2.1 Sarcocystis neurona
      • 2.2.2 Neospora caninum
  • 3. Changing demographics of equine diseases
    • 3.1 Vesicular stomatitis
      • 3.1.1 Disease dissemination
      • 3.1.2 Increasing reoccurrence
    • 3.2 EPM
      • 3.2.1 Disease dissemination
    • 3.3 African Horse Sickness
      • 3.3.1 European infections
  • 4. Foreign equine diseases
    • 4.1 A consideration of potential problems
Meng, XJ
DBSP Blacksburg
Recent Emerging Viral Diseases of Swine: Risks of Zoonosis and Xenozoonosis
  • 1. General mechanisms of emerging viral diseases in swine
  • 1.1 Virus factors
  • 1.2 Host factors
  • 1.3 Environmental factors
  • 1.4 How to identify emerging viral pathogens in swine
  • 2. Swine hepatitis E virus (swine HEV)
    • 2.1 The virus and its associated disease
    • 2.2 Similarity between swine HEV and human HEV
    • 2.3 Zoonosis
    • 2.4 Xenozoonosis
    • 2.5 Strategies for vaccine development
  • 3. Porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV)
    • 3.1 The virus
    • 3.2 PERV and HIV: similarity and difference
    • 3.3 Infection of human cells by PERV
    • 3.4 Risk of PERV infection in xenotransplantation with pig organs
    • 3.5 Prevention
  • 4. New porcine circovirus (PCV-2)
    • 4.1 Non-pathogenic PCV-1
    • 4.2 Emerging pathogenic PCV-2
    • 4.3 Clinical signs and pathology
    • 4.4 Zoonosis and Xenozoonosis
    • 4.5 Is there a circovirus in humans?
  • 5. New Nipah virus in pigs
    • 5.1 The virus
    • 5.2 Epidemiology
    • 5.3 Clinical signs and pathology
    • 5.4 Nipah virus infection in pigs
    • 5.5 Nipah virus infection in humans
    • 5.6 Prevention and control
  • 6. Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV)
    • 6.1 The virus and its evolution
    • 6.2 The disease (PRRS)
    • 6.3 PRRSV heterogeneity and its implication
    • 6.4 Re-emergence of severe "atypical" PRRS
    • 6.5 Prevention and control
  • 7. Emerging swine influenza virus (H3N2 strain)
    • 7.1 The virus
    • 7.2 Genetic reassortment with avian and human strains
    • 7.3 Zoonosis and xenozoonosis
    • 7.4 Pandemic in humans with emerging swine influenza virus: is it possible?
    • 7.5 Prevention and control
Pierson, FW
LACS Blacksburg 		Emerging Diseases of Poultry
  • 1. Problems associated with intensive rearing operations
  • 2. Multi-causal Respiratory Disease
    • 2.1 Interactions among respiratory pathogens
    • 2.2 Effects of immunosuppressive agents
  • 3. Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale
  • 4. Spiking Mortality of Chickens - Arenavirus
  • 5. Enteric Disease Complex of Turkeys
    • 5.1 Poult Growth Depression (PGD)
    • 5.2 Poult Enteritis Mortality Syndrome (PEMS)
Driscoll, C
Maryland
 Emerging Diseases in Fish and Wildlife Introduction and Importance to Agriculture
  • 1. Harmful Algal Blooms
    • 1.1 Species Affected
    • 1.2 Clinical Manifestations
    • 1.3 Pathology
    • 1.4 Control/ Prevention/ Management
    • 1.5 Human Health Implications
  • 2. Fibropapilloma Disease in Sea Turtles
    • 2.1 Species Affected
    • 2.2 Clinical Manifestations
    • 2.3 Pathology
    • 2.4 Control/ Prevention/ Management
    • 2.5 Human Health Implications
  • 3. Avian Neurologic Disease (etiology yet to be named/identified)
    • 3.1 Species Affected
    • 3.2 Clinical Manifestations
    • 3.3 Pathology
    • 3.4 Control/ Prevention/ Management
    • 3.5 Human Health Implications
  • 4. Future Recommendations
Pfeiffer, CJ
DBSP Blacksburg
Morbillivirus Infections in Aquatic Mammals
  • 1. Early epizootics
    • 1.1 Harbor seals and grey seals (Europe)
    • 1.2 Baikal seals (Siberia)
  • 2. Dolphin epizootics
    • 2.1 Mediterranean striped dolphins
    • 2.2 American buttlenose dolphins
    • 2.3 European Harbor porpoises
    • 2.4 Other species
  • 3. Clinical signs
    • 3.1 Behavior
    • 3.2 Gross pathology
    • 3.3 Microscopic pathology
    • 3.4 Immune response
Heckert, RA
Maryland
 Influenza - an Ever Evolving Disease
  • 1. History of the flu
  • 2. Influenza - the virus
    • 2.1 Shift
    • 2.2 Drift
    • 2.3 Mechanisms of virulence
  • 3. Influenza epidemiology
    • 3.1 A cycle in man, pigs and fowl
  • 4. Disease emergence
    • 4.1 Low virulence to high virulence
    • 4.2 Crossing the species barrier