B.Sc. 4th Year Medical and Public Health Microbiology

Public Health, Epidemiology, Environment and Disease Prevention

This section introduces the principles of epidemiology, health and disease, disease transmission and disease prevention. It also covers water microbiology, waste management and microbial air pollution from a public-health perspective.

Major Topics

• Health, disease and epidemiological measurements
• Definitions and applications of epidemiology
• Indicators of health and disease
• Mortality, morbidity, incidence and prevalence
• Incidence density and measures of effect
• Epidemic, endemic, pandemic, sporadic disease and outbreak
• Investigation of disease outbreaks
• Modes of transmission of diseases
• Chain of infection, cases, carriers and hosts
• Disease prevention, control, elimination and eradication
• Drinking water microbiology
• Types and quality of water
• Physico-chemical and microbiological parameters of water
• Biological indicators of water pollution
• National and WHO drinking-water quality guidelines
• Drinking-water treatment in large water supply systems
• Monitoring of water quality
• Solid waste and solid waste management
• Sewage and industrial effluents
• Composition and microbiology of sewage
• Wastewater treatment
• Microbial air pollution
• Enumeration and identification of microorganisms in indoor and outdoor air
• Indicator microorganisms of air pollution
• Air-borne diseases and air-pollution control

Medical Microbiology Foundations, Immunity, Safety and Clinical Specimens

This section provides the foundation of medical microbiology, beginning with its historical development and normal flora. It then covers the immune system in detail, clinical laboratory safety and the collection, transportation, processing and culture of clinical specimens.

Major Topics

• Historical background of medical microbiology
• Major contributors to medical microbiology
• Normal flora of the human body
• Normal flora of skin
• Normal flora of gastrointestinal tract
• Normal flora of respiratory tract
• Normal flora of genitourinary tract
• Opportunistic pathogens
• Types of immunity
• Cells and tissues of the immune system
• Antigens
• Immunoglobulins and their types
• Antigen-antibody reactions
• Hypersensitivity
• Principles of clinical laboratory safety
• Decontamination and safe disposal of contaminated materials
• Biosafety-level laboratories
• Risk and hazard groups of microorganisms
• Clinical specimen collection
• Specimen transportation and temperature maintenance
• Specimen processing and culture
• Cerebrospinal fluid
• Blood
• Sputum
• Urine
• Stool
• Other body fluids
• Pus and wound exudates
• Possible pathogens in different clinical specimens
• Bacterial culture procedures
• Virus culture using chick embryo and cell lines
• Cytopathic effects
• Detection of viruses from culture
• Serological diagnosis of viral infections
• Samples and processing for fungal infections
• Samples for parasite detection
• Detection of blood, intestinal and tissue parasites

Common Pathogenic Bacteria, Viruses and Medically Important Fungi

This section covers the major bacterial, viral and fungal pathogens included in the syllabus. Each organism will be studied systematically with emphasis on biology, epidemiology, transmission, disease, laboratory diagnosis, prevention and control.

Common Pathogenic Bacteria

• Mycobacterium
• Staphylococcus
• Streptococcus
• Escherichia coli
• Salmonella
• Shigella
• Vibrio
• Rickettsia
• Treponema
• Clostridium

Common Pathogenic Viruses

• Herpes viruses
• Hepatitis viruses
• Measles virus
• Influenza virus
• HIV
• Rotavirus
• Poliovirus
• Rabies virus
• Japanese encephalitis virus
• Dengue virus

Medically Important Fungi

• Introduction and classification of medically important fungi
• Medically important yeasts
• Dermatophytes
• Aspergillus
• Histoplasma
• Candida
• Cryptococcus

Detailed notes for each organism will include morphology, biology, epidemiology, transmission, pathogenesis or disease process, clinical manifestations, laboratory diagnosis, prevention and control.

Common Pathogenic Parasites

This section covers the medically important protozoan and helminthic parasites included in the syllabus. Particular emphasis will be given to morphology, life cycle, epidemiology, transmission, pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, prevention and control.

Protozoan Parasites

• Entamoeba
• Giardia
• Plasmodium spp.
• Leishmania spp.

Helminthic Parasites

• Wuchereria bancrofti
• Taenia
• Ascaris lumbricoides
• Ancylostoma duodenale

Parasite notes will include important morphological forms, complete life cycles, hosts and vectors where applicable, routes of transmission, clinical disease, specimen collection, laboratory diagnosis, prevention and control.