Module 4 – Home

Module Overview

In Module 3 we examined chemical control of microbes.  We have our own biologic methods of controlling microbes that inhabit or attempt to invade our bodies.  The concepts of immunity and the immune response will help you to understand how the human body fights infection and the components of the immune system that target specific pathogens. 

First let’s examine disease transmission and epidemiology.  In our modern society and advanced medical skill in the U.S., we don’t often think about outbreaks of disease.  When you click on this link, notice the regions that have experienced outbreaks and how recently these outbreaks occurred.

As humans, we have several sophisticated systems that are constantly at work to protect us from disease.  A pathogen’s ability to cause disease depends on virulence factors that enable it to penetrate host tissues, and evade our defenses.  It is particularly fascinating that some pathogens can actually render our defenses useless and even turn them against us!

Hospitals and the workplace are often incubators for disease.  Read this article about Infectious Diseases in the Workplace to learn about some shocking diseases that are spread more and more easily throughout our country as travel becomes easier, our marketplace becomes more global, and employees are exposed to new threats.

Proceed to your Case and SLP assignments to review these concepts, explore some current disease epidemics in the U.S., and learn more about our immune system

In this Case Assignment, you will focus on the materials that you viewed on the Home page.  After reading the text and viewing each of the links provided there, address the following questions:

What are three methods of disease transmission mentioned in the epidemiology animation on the Home page?  Provide some examples.

What are the most common vectors mentioned in the video on transmission of disease?

Which pathogens were mentioned in the Virulence Factors animations?  List all of the pathogens mentioned and then choose two to discuss.  In your discussion include:

How do they hide from host defenses?

How do they invade or penetrate the host?

Research how they reproduce, and ID them using at least three phenotypic descriptions (you can refer to the dichotomous key from the previous module for phenotypic descriptions).

Note whether the pathogen you chose was reported as a risk to the workplace in the Infectious Diseases in the Workplace article you read on the Home page.

Note the total cases and related mortality reported by the CDC stats in the linked report.

Organize these using headings for each topic and write your answers in paragraph form.

Assignment Expectations

Please include a cover sheet for your Case Assignment.  Use headings to separate each section’s questions, and answer each question using complete sentences.  Use your own words and build on the ideas of others.  Quoted material should not exceed 10% of the total paper (since the focus of these assignments is critical thinking).  When material is copied verbatim from external sources, it MUST be enclosed in quotes.  The references should be cited within the text and also listed at the end of the assignment in the References section (preferably in APA format). 

References:  List the references used to address the pathogens you selected for this assignment.  The references should be listed at the end of the assignment in a References section and should be cited throughout (preferably in APA format). 

Organization: Subheadings should be used to organize your paper according to question.

The following items will be assessed:

Assignment-Driven Criteria – Did you address each requirement?

Critical Thinking – How well did you synthesize and evaluate the topics addressed?

Scholarly Writing – Is everything explained in complete sentences?

Quality of References and Assignment Organization – Did you organize your paper with headings? 

Citing Sources – Did you list your references and cite information where necessary

Required Reading

Read the following chapters in the Microbiology etext available at https://www.boundless.com/microbiology/textbooks/boundless-microbiology-textbook/

Chapter 10:  Epidemiology

Section 1:  Principles of Epidemiology

Section 2:  Pathogen Identification

Section 4:  Nosocomial Infections

Chapter 11:  Immunology

Section 1:  Overview of Immunity

Section 2:  Innate Immune Response

Section 3:  Phagocytes

Section 7: Antibodies

Section 8: T Cells and Cellular Immunity

Section 12: Classifying Immunities

Additional Resources

Singh, U. S.  and Kapoor, K. “Chapter 17:  Immune Defence against Microbes,” in Introductory Microbiology. Global Media, Jaipur IND. 2010. eISBN: 9789350431238

Introductory Microbiology textbook, using “Ch 11:  Microbial Epidemiology,” Ch 7:  Viral Effects on Cells,” and “Ch 17:  Viruses and Prions” in A Concise Manual of Pathogenic Microbiology.