In this video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey, learn about bubonic plague and how city officials in San Francisco tried to contain its spread in the early 1900s..

In this lesson students will listen to a story of a boy with chicken pox and participate in a class discussion of chicken pox and what to do when you have a contagious disease. They will incorporate math by graphing who in the class has had the disease. They will draw chicken pox on an outline of a child, then practice mathematical concepts with the spots.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Even though Europe is far from malarial hot spots, doctors there still have to treat travelers who contract the disease while on holiday or business trips. And because Europeans aren’t exposed to malaria on a regular basis, if they do become infected with the parasites, they’re more likely to develop a severe case. To keep tabs on how malaria is treated across 12 European countries, the European Network for Tropical Medicine and Travel Health, or TropNet, regularly collects data. Now, a report on all of its severe malaria cases between 2006 and 2014 offers an unprecedented look at malaria treatment across the continent. Over the 8-year period, epidemiologists counted 185 cases of severe malaria in the network, primarily following visits to West or central Africa. The outcome was good for the vast majority of patients: 98.4 percent survived. But there was a lot of variation in how people were treated. Hospitals used 56 different drug combinations..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This course consists of an international analysis of the impact of epidemic diseases on western society and culture from the bubonic plague to HIV/AIDS and the recent experience of SARS and swine flu. Leading themes include: infectious disease and its impact on society; the development of public health measures; the role of medical ethics; the genre of plague literature; the social reactions of mass hysteria and violence; the rise of the germ theory of disease; the development of tropical medicine; a comparison of the social, cultural, and historical impact of major infectious diseases; and the issue of emerging and re-emerging diseases.

This video lesson shows students that math can play a role in understanding how an infectious disease spreads and how it can be controlled. During this lesson, students will see and use both deterministic and probabilistic models and will learn by doing through role-playing exercises. The primary exercises between video segments of this lesson are class-intensive simulation games in which members of the class 'infect' each other under alternative math modeling assumptions about disease progression. Also there is an occasional class discussion and local discussion with nearby classmates.

This subject examines the paradoxes of contemporary globalization. Through lectures, discussions and student presentations, we will study the cultural, linguistic, social and political impact of globalization across broad international borders.
We will pay attention to the subtle interplay of history, geography, language and cultural norms that gave rise to specific ways of life. The materials for the course include fiction, nonfiction, audio pieces, maps and visual materials.

This sequence introduces students to medical microbiology, infectious diseases, and antimicrobial therapy, and focuses on pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of various infectious diseases.

At the time of the video, 60 cases of AIDs had been documented at KCMC, arriving at an ever increasing rate since the first case in 1984. While the issue is tragic, the video provides a fascinating insight into the situation “at the front-lines.” The idea of an epidemic is just beginning to be considered. Understanding of the situation is in its early phases: how long is the incubation? How exactly is it spread? How can we treat it? Will there be a vaccine? Who is at risk?

Unlike in Europe and the West, AIDs in Africa is a heterosexual illness. Victims are adults of both sexes in their sexual prime. Howlett says that most of the cases he has seen have come from urban centres. People are beginning to understand that the full impact of the disease is invisible, because of the long incubation time from infection to full-blown disease. The tragedy of transmission to new-borns is just beginning to be observed.

The only defence against dying of AIDS, is to use condoms. Blood screening is starting to be implemented in major centres.

This video’s intended audience was humanitarian volunteers in Europe, intending to come to Africa. Howlett tells them that they need to be clear about their responsibilities to themselves and their families. That they need to understand potential, long-term impacts of any decisions they make. It is not the same situation, he says, as it was for volunteers 5-10 years ago.

As a medically trained humanitarian, Howlett first travelled to Africa in 1980. From 1984, he began as a Ministry-appointed specialist physician at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC), in Moshi, in northern Tanzania. He has remained closely associated with KCMC ever since. Learn more about Howlett’s experiences.

In the first video, from 1987, he describes the beginning of the epidemic with the first officially documented case of HIV-AIDS that was diagnosed at KCMC in March 1984. In the third video from 2018, he cites UNAIDS statistics from 2016, to underline the scope of the epidemic. In Tanzania, a country of 55 million people, 1.4 million are HIV-infected. The UNAIDS statistics further indicate that in 2016, it is estimated that there are 55 000 new HIV-infections and 33 000 AIDs-related deaths annually.

Just 2 years later, Howlett is interviewed again. It is interesting to note how much understanding of the epidemic has grown in the 2 years since his first interview. Research and reporting is increasing. Howlett says that Tanzania has reported 2 500 cases thus far to WHO.

Focus is being placed on Public Education measures. It is beginning to be understood, to use metaphors, that AIDs cases represent just the tip of the iceberg for a disease that has an incubation time as long as 7-8 years, or longer. The epidemic is spreading from the main concentration of cases in urban centres, where there are high levels of promiscuity. Such areas with prostitution, travellers, mobile populations create “whirlpools” of infection and may have rates of infection in these high risk population groups more than 70%. The infection spreads from these urban nodes to rural areas, spreading in “ripples”, as travellers return home to their families.

A highly specific blood test has been developed to ensure safer blood supplies, although, Howlett explains, this is not a major transmission route in Africa.

Howlett says that the difference between the AIDs epidemic in Europe and Africa is largely cultural. In the West, he says, there is less promiscuity. In Africa, promiscuity is more tolerated, especially in “travelling” communities of truck-drivers and businessmen. Specific communities of sexual workers have become established in all urban centres. In a cycle of poverty, it may be the only choice available to many women. These women, Howlett explains, act as repositories, and the visiting men are the vectors spreading the disease along transportation routes and to their homes, in rural settings.

Howlett and his wife, Juliet, have become increasingly engaged in Public Education – holding talks in Public Meetings, developing education materials, reaching out to social leaders … However, he says that providing information is not enough to change behaviour – people have to understand the information and its implications for their lives and the lives of their family members.. Be responsible. Tests are available – get tested. Be celibate if you are HIV positive, or, at least, use a condom. All are equal before AIDs, he says. Nearly 100% of patients with AIDs die.

This presentation provides an introduction to diarrheal diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites and other disease causing agents or pathogens. Furthermore, we’ll look at the range of syndromes associated with diarrhea and uncover two significant pathogens: rotavirus and vibrio cholera. Finally, we’ll delve into methods for managing diarrheal diseases and the significance of sanitation in preventing diarrheal diseases.

This presentation provides an introduction to infectious diseases like tuberculosis, vector-borne diseases, puerperal sepsis, streptococcus septicemia, etc. and how these diseases have affected global health over the last two centuries and decades.

7.016 Introductory Biology provides an introduction to fundamental principles of biochemistry, molecular biology, and genetics for understanding the functions of living systems. Taught for the first time in Fall 2013, this course covers examples of the use of chemical biology and twenty-first-century molecular genetics in understanding human health and therapeutic intervention.
The MIT Biology Department Introductory Biology courses 7.012, 7.013, 7.014, 7.015, and 7.016 all cover the same core material, which includes the fundamental principles of biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and cell biology. Biological function at the molecular level is particularly emphasized and covers the structure and regulation of genes, as well as the structure and synthesis of proteins, how these molecules are integrated into cells, and how these cells are integrated into multicellular systems and organisms. In addition, each version of the subject has its own distinctive material.

The MIT Biology Department core Introductory Biology courses, 7.012, 7.013, 7.014, 7.015, and 7.016 all cover the same core material, which includes the fundamental principles of biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and cell biology. The focus of 7.013 is on genomic approaches to human biology, including neuroscience, development, immunology, tissue repair and stem cells, tissue engineering, and infectious and inherited diseases, including cancer.

The MIT Biology Department core courses, 7.012, 7.013, and 7.014, all cover the same core material, which includes the fundamental principles of biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and cell biology. 7.013 focuses on the application of the fundamental principles toward an understanding of human biology. Topics include genetics, cell biology, molecular biology, disease (infectious agents, inherited diseases and cancer), developmental biology, neurobiology and evolution.
Biological function at the molecular level is particularly emphasized in all courses and covers the structure and regulation of genes, as well as, the structure and synthesis of proteins, how these molecules are integrated into cells, and how these cells are integrated into multicellular systems and organisms. In addition, each version of the subject has its own distinctive material.

This module was designed to meet the growing need for an applied course in the measurement of a variety of health indicators and outcomes. Whether you manage a health programme, a health facility, or simply have to interpret health data in the course of your work, this module sets out to increase your capacity to deal with health and disease information. It aims to assist you in applying epidemiological knowledge and skills to a variety of Public Health problems such as:Is your DOTS programme succeeding?What does it mean if a TB prevalence is 850/100 000?Is this a Public Health problem or not?What is the Ňburden of diseaseÓ in different communities?

This module was developed at the School of Public Health, University for the Western Cape for the Postgraduate Certificate in Public Health which was offered as a distance learning module between 2001 and 2008. It was designed to meet the growing need for an applied course in the measurement of a variety of health indicators and outcomes. Whether you manage a health programme, a health facility, or simply have to interpret health data in the course of your work, this module sets out to increase your capacity to deal with health and disease information. It aims to assist you in applying epidemiological knowledge and skills to a variety of Public Health problems such as: Is your DOTS programme succeeding? What does it mean if a TB prevalence is 850/100 000? Is this a Public Health problem or not? What is the burden of disease in different communities?

In MedMyst: Disease Defenders, players can choose to train with an epidemiologist, microbiologist, or veterinarian to learn how these experts work as a team to solve infectious disease outbreaks while using the scientific method. Each expert path has its own learning objectives and stresses different parts of the scientific method.

This is an interactive learning adventure for middle school students and has accompanying classroom activities and magazines. In this challenge, students will perform experiments to identify the germ responsible for a fungal disease. Students will follow rules or postulates worked out by Dr. Koch in the late 1800s for establishing whether a specific germ causes a particular infectious disease: 1. The suspected pathogen must be present in every case of the disease; 2. The suspected pathogen must be isolated from the host and grown in pure culture; 3. The disease must be reproduced when a pure culture of the suspected pathogen is inoculated into a healthy susceptible host; 4. The same pathogen must be recovered from the newly infected host. The Germ Theory of Disease holds that germs or microorganisms cause infectious diseases. Funded through the National Center for Research Resources and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

In this video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey, follow two scientists and their Nobel Prize-winning efforts to cure bacterial infections using penicillin.