Dynamics of Infectious Diseases
How does influenza spread around the world? Should badgers be culled to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis? What were the origins of Ebola? Why do diseases such as Zika emerge and how best can we control them?
The Dynamics of Infectious Disease course is the only undergraduate course on the epidemiology of infectious diseases and is designed to cater for all NST and MVST students that are interested in the big picture of how infectious diseases affect animal and human populations, and wish to gain a comprehensive understanding of the transmission and control of infectious disease within populations.
The majority of infectious diseases in humans either originate, or are actively spread from animal populations. The One Health concept, which recognises that the health of humans is intrinsically connected to the health of animals and the environment - underpins the course. The course also seeks to demystify the application of mathematics to understand biological systems. Students with a particular interest in maths may wish to explore this further through a computationally based project, whereas those without can focus on the concepts that lie behind mathematical models.
The program is organised and delivered by experts in infectious disease epidemiology working with the Disease Dynamics Unit at the Vet School, complemented by lectures on specific infections by invited external experts.
Research Projects
Students will be offered research projects at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, which may be either laboratory or computer based with an emphasis on mathematical biology.
Examples of Recent Projects
- Epidemiology of Norovirus in Germany
- Investigating the prevalence and disease association of feline paramyxovirus infection in domestic cats.
- Modelling the control of bTB in Ethiopia.
- Epidemiology of epidemic meningococcal disease in the African meningitis belt.
- Modelling the role of Chronic Shedders in the Evolution of Recombinant Norovirus.
- Investigating the effect of Seasonal Variability of Migration on Force of Infection.
- How does inflammation impact on the efficacy of antibiotics in vivo?
- Mechanisms underlying gut microbiota during ageing : grinding.