GENERAL PARASITOLOGY AND ZOONOSES
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2019/2020
- Teacher
- BAHRAM SAYYAF DEZFULI
- Credits
- 6
- Curriculum
- BIOTECNOLOGIE PER LA SALUTE
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- VET/06
Training objectives
- The teaching target of general parasitology is helping Biotecnology students to grasp the morphological features, life cycle and main harm of the parasites to human and other animals. The course will provide information about general and human parasitology and on different aspects of zoonosis. This course provides an overview of zoonotic pathogen emergence with an emphasis on the role of wildlife. Moreover, the course will deal with biology and the strategy for control of anthropozoonosis of the animals.
This course will provide following knowdeges to the student:
- the terms and key concepts of general parasitology
- le features of most important taxon of parasite, i.e., protozoan, helminths, arthropods
- different type of hosts, the damage caused by parasites and the immune responses of host
- the ways of transmission of pathgens
- the main strategy of prevention and care of parasitic diseases
- zoonosis
- life cyle of some parasita of human heath interest
- Climate change and parasitosis
Thanks to the course, the student will obtain the capacity to:
- recognize different type of parasites
- figure out the role of animals as reservior and agent for transmission of pathogenic organisms
- show the pricipal strategies for prevention and/or avoid the difusion of parasitic diseases
- evalute the effect of travelling and world globalization in transmission of parasitic diseases and resistant to the drugs. Prerequisites
- There is no prepeuducity. Nevertheless, it will assume that the student has basic knowledge about the biology: cell, animals, interactions between living organisms.
Course programme
- In the first module, namely General Parasitology the following topics will be treated (about 24 hours): Definition of the symbiosis, mutualisms, commensalisms, parasitism. General and human parasitology. Common terms about parasite: host, intermediate host, final host, reservoir host, paratenic host, life cycle, infective stage. Terms used in parasitology (prevalence, intensity and abundance). Antiquity of parasites. Trophic adaptation, physiology and morphology of the parasites. Specificity of parasites. Origin, diffusion, and life cycles of some human parasites. Host defence reaction: natural defence, genes of reaction, innate immunity. Parasitism and immunodeficiency. Importance of parasitic diseases.
In the second module, Zoonosis the following topics will be presented (about 24 hours): Epidemiology models in parasitology. The main protozoan parasites of human (Trichomonas vaginalis, Giardia duodenalis, Toxoplasma gondii, Plasmodium falciparum, Cryptosporidium spp.). The main Platyhelminthes and Nematodes which cause human parasitosis (Fasciola hepatica, Taenia solium e T. saginata, Echinococcus granulosus, Diphyllobothrium latum, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichinella spiralis, Enterobius vermicularis, Anisakis sp., Toxocara canis e T. cati). Arthropods of public health importance (Sarcoptes scabiei, Ixodes ricinus, Pediculus humanus). Climate change and parasitosis. Didactic methods
- Didactic methods are mainly based on front lectures, as important tool for synthesis and development of the formative targets. This tool is focused on slides analyzed during lectures and on related books and publications advised to the student to lead the formative course.
Learning assessment procedures
- A written test will verify the knowledge of the topics of the course. The exam consists of 33 multiple-choice questions. The evaluation is expressed in thirtieths. Each correct answer has a value of 1. To pass the exam, the student needs to answer correctly at least 18 questions (minimum score 18/30). To obtain 30 it is necessary to answer correctly 30 queries, score (30 cum laude) the student needs to answer correctly to 31, 32 or 33 questions. The exam duration will be 50 minutes.
For DSA students, the procedure and the duration of the exam will be evaluated individually. Reference texts
- - Modern Parasitology: 2nd Edition, Editor F. E. G. Cox, Wiley-Blackwell.
-Wildlife and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases: The Biology, Circumstances and Consequences of Cross-Species Transmission. Editors: J. E. Childs, J. S. Mackenzie, Springer.
