Plagues, Pestilence and Pandemics: Are You Ready? (FutureLearn)

You’ll explore the science of infection and the spread of infectious diseases, identifying how microorganisms spread and manifest in the body. You’ll discover the challenges that re-emerging epidemics and bacterial resistance pose to disease prevention in diverse communities. And you’ll determine how to contain disease effectively and prevent future pandemics.

What topics will you cover?

• The science of infection and disease and the distinction between the two. Not all infections cause disease and not all diseases may be due to infection.
• Microorganisms: how they spread, and how they manifest in the body to cause disease.
• Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases: emerging infections are those that have newly appeared in a population whereas re-emerging infections are those that existed in the past (SARS, EBOLA) but have reappeared.
• A discussion of bacterial resistance, how bacteria evolve to become resistant to things that are meant to kill them.
• Contemporary communicable diseases and healthcare-associated infections at a global, regional, national and local level.
• Outbreak responses, identifying and breaking the chain of infection through good hygiene and standard precautions.
• You have a role to play: practical containment and prevention strategies.

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

• Explain the science of infection and infectious diseases
• Describe emerging and re-emerging diseases
• Identify the various challenges in the prevention of infectious diseases in diverse healthcare and community settings
• Discuss the basic principles of effective containment and prevention of infectious diseases