Epidemics I (edX)

“If history is our guide, we can assume that the battle between the intellect and will of the human species and the extraordinary adaptability of microbes will be never-ending.” Fauci AS, Touchette NA, Folkers GK. Emerging Infectious Diseases: a 10-Year Perspective from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Emerg Infect Dis 2005 Apr; 11(4):519-25.

Despite all the remarkable technological breakthroughs that we have made over the past few decades, the threat from infectious diseases has significantly accelerated. In this course, we will learn why this is the case by looking at the fundamental scientific principles underlying epidemics and the public health actions behind their prevention and control in the 21st century.
This course covers the following four topics:

• origins of novel pathogens;
• analysis of the spread of infectious diseases;
• medical and public health countermeasures to prevent and control epidemics;
• panel discussions involving leading public health experts with deep frontline experiences to share their views on risk communication, crisis management, ethics and public trust in the context of infectious disease control.

This course is part of the Epidemics-Origins, Spread, Control and Communication Professional Certificate

What you'll learn:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the origins, spread and control of infectious disease epidemics
• Demonstrate understanding of the importance of effective communication about epidemics
• Demonstrate understanding of key contemporary issues relating to epidemics from a global perspective

Syllabus

Week 1: Epidemics: Past, Present and Future
What is epidemic?
How epidemics of infectious disease arise from historic transitions?
Why novel emerging infectious diseases continue to arise?
Emerging infectious disease, re-emerging infectious disease and zoonosis
Factors leading to infectious disease emergence and re-emergence (microbial factors, climate and weather, changes in ecosystem and land use, human demographics, migrations and behaviour, international travel and commerce, technology, industry and intensive animal husbandry, breakdown in public health due to poverty, wars, natural disasters, and bioterrorism)
Regions with higher risk of future emerging infectious disease and estimated economic costs of emerging infectious disease

Week 2: Discussion on Ebola and Zika Outbreak, and Supplementary Module on Next Generation Informatics for Global Health
How to prepare for the next epidemic?
How to allocate our resources among our fights against different pathogens?
How should we channel our resources?
Vaccines
Antimicrobial resistance
Supplementary module: towards digital pathogen surveillance: a very bumpy, winding road

Week 3: Ecology, Evolution and Emergence of Infectious Diseases
Ecology of infectious diseases
Emerging infectious diseases at the human-animal interface
What is phylogenetic tree?
How to use phylogenetic trees to study an epidemic of infectious disease?
Emergence of highly pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza virus in Asia
Emergence of the H7N9 Influenza A virus in china
Swine Influenza and the 2009 pandemic H1N1

Week 4: Discussion on Ebola Outbreak, and Supplementary Module on Next Generation Informatics for Global Health
Ebola in the wider context
Border controls
Is stopping bushmeat the answer?
How should we use experimental treatments and vaccines?
Should we centralise care and enforce lockdowns?
Will Ebola become airborne?
Will Ebola be become a huge human pandemic like HIV?
Supplementary module: global variation in risk of influenza virus emergence

Week 5: Medical Detective: Bug Hunting in Epidemics
Discovery of a novel microbe: first suspicion
Finding the cause of interstitial pneumonia
The identification of the novel virus associated with this infectious pneumonia
Proof of association & causation: is SARS coronavirus really the cause of SARS?
Control of emerging infections depends on: control at the source
Alert: coronavirus as the cause of emerging infectious diseases!
Supplementary module: using genetic data at multiple scales to understand constraints on viral evolution