Viruses andViruses andHuman HealthHuman Health

Viruses and Human Health

Learning Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to…

(1)Define disease characteristics of viruses

(2)Speculate on the influence of these characteristics on the spread of disease

(3)Design simulation experiments to test their hypotheses

(4)Draw conclusions based on obtained simulation data

(5)Integrate knowledge regarding different characteristics to speculate on the combined effect of variations in two or more characteristics

What are…

Viruses

Viral Transmission

Vaccines

Videohttp://video.about.com/pediatrics/Vaccination.htm

Viral Transmission Simulation

Investigate the impact of 4 disease characteristics on the spread of disease through a population

(1)Virulence: 0-75% victims die

(2) Duration of Infection: 1-20 days

(3)Rate of Transmission: 0.1-10 new person per day

(4)Initial Percent Immune: 0-100%

Viral Transmission Simulation

Click Herehttp://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/

nih1/Diseases/activities/activity4-flash.htm

Realistic Simulation?

Summary

VaccineDevelopmentPublic Health

& Epidemiology

Professions

Jennifer Hutcheon (PhD),Perinatal Epidemiologist

What I do: Study the health of pregnant women and their

newborns by looking at trends in BC population data

Best part of job: My research findings help improve medical care given to

pregnant women and their newborns.

Related Professions

Bryan Rennie (MSc), Senior Technician,

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

What I do: Produce reagents from pathogenic bacteria to diagnose tuberculosis and

brucellosis in livestock

Best part of job: Research projects that help to clarify

diagnostic tests in use.

Professions

Stephanie Cheah (MSc), Research

Technician

What I do: Carry out research experiments

investigating the mechanisms of multiple

sclerosis

Best part of job: Having the freedom to plan my own

experiments and dictate my own work schedule

Questions?

Curiocity.ca