Global Perspective of Parasitic Diseases
Objectives
At the end of this course, the students should be able to: 1. Describe the importance of Medical Parasitology and vector-borne diseases in International Health, to know the main groups of parasites, vectors and intermediate hosts. 2. Know the latest developments in the field of medical parasitology, in line with the most current trends in the area, tailored to the needs of the student, as well as the general and specific objectives of their doctoral project. 3. In particular, students should know and be able to discuss issues such as: 3.1 - main challenges and topical issues in the investigation, diagnosis and treatment of parasitic diseases; 3.2 - parasite-host interaction and susceptibility / resistance factors; 3.3 - importance of genomics in parasitology and vector populations; 3.4 - usefulness of phylogeny and bioinformatics in the study of unknown parasite sequences; 3.5 - problem of insecticide resistance in the control of vector-borne diseases; 3.6 - the importance of population perceptions in the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases; 4. Consult the main sources of information in Medical Parasitology, acquiring competence and autonomy in the selection of relevant information, its critical analysis, discussion and exposition.
General characterization
Code
5573046
Credits
4
Responsible teacher
Paulo Almeida
Hours
Weekly - 11
Total - 38
Teaching language
Portuguese
Prerequisites
Not applicable
Bibliography
• Alum A, Rubino JR, Ijaz MK. 2010. The global war against intestinal parasites - should we use a holistic approach? Int J Infect Dis. 14(9):e732-8. • Basu M K, Ray M. 2005. Macrophage and Leishmania: An Unacceptable Coexistence. Critical Reviews in Microbiology, 31:145–154, Beaty B.J. and Marquardt W.C. 1996. The biology of disease vectors. University Press of Colorado, 632 pp. • Beaty, B.J. and Marquardt WC (Ed.). 2005. Biology of disease vectors. Elsevier Academic Press, Burlington MA, USA. 632 pp. • Bueno-Marí R, Almeida APG and Navarro JC (2015) Editorial: Emerging zoonoses: eco-epidemiology, involved mechanisms, and public health implications. Front. Public Health 3:157. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2015.00157). • Cook G. C., Zumla, A. I. 2003. Manson´s Tropical Diseases, 21ª edição. London, Elsevier Science, WB Saunders, London, UK, 1864 pp. • Eziefula AC, Brown M. 2008. Intestinal nematodes: disease burden, deworming and the potential importance of co-infection. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 21(5):516-22. • Fiddock, D A, Richard T Eastman, Stephen Ward and Steven R Meshnick 2008. Resistance highlights in antimalarial drug resistance and chemotherapy research. A Review, Trends in Parasitology Vol 24 n. 12. • Garcia CR, de Azevedo MF, Wunderlich G, Budu A, Young JA, Bannister L. 2008. Plasmodium in the postgenomic era: new insights into the molecular cell biology of malaria parasites. Int Rev Cell Mol Biol.; 266:85-156. • Garcia L. S. 2007. Diagnostic Medical Parasitology, 5ª edição. ASM Press. Washington, DC, USA. • Gryseels B., Polman, K., Clerinx J. and Kestens L. 2006. Human schistosomiasis. The Lancet, 368: 1106-1118. • Petters, W and Pasvol, G. 2007. Atlas of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology. 6th Edition (Elsevier). • Stepek G, Buttle DJ, Duce IR, Behnke JM. 2006. Human gastrointestinal nematode infections: are new control methods required? Int J Exp Pathol. 87(5):325-41. • Taylor M.J. Hoerauf A, Bockarie M. 2010. Lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis. Lancet. 376:1175-85. • Torina A, Sole M, Reale S, Vitale F, Caracappa S. 2008. Use of Phlebotomine sand flies as indicator of Leishmania prevalence in an endemic area. Animal Biodiversity and Emerging Diseases Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 1149: 355-357. • Wongsrichanalai C, Barcus MJ, Muth S, Sutamihardja A, Wernsdorfer WH. 2007. A review of malaria diagnostic tools: microscopy and rapid diagnostic test (RDT). Am J Trop Med Hyg;77(6 Suppl):119-27. Review. PubMed PMID: 18165483. In addition, teachers will indicate free access scientific articles or provide the paper pdf.
Teaching method
Teaching: Lectures T keynote lectures, and TP with exercises in class, stimulating the discussion, and serving as guide for autonomous student’s work in the subject addressed or their specialization; OT for the monitoring of bibliographical research, scientific articles or other sources, intended for an essay or practical work of analyzing the data provided.
Evaluation method
Assessment: Written assignment, essay or data processing / analysis, focusing on the current lines of research (2000 ± 200 words), referring to the subjects provided by the teachers in the respective lectures. Each student must carry out two (2) written assignments, at his / her choice according to the objectives of his / her thesis. Final classification between 0 and 20 points (minimum mark of 10 for approval), corresponding to the average of the two written assignments.
Subject matter
I. Medical Parasitology and vector-borne diseases in International Health, the main groups of parasites, vectors and intermediate hosts. II. Most recent developments in the field of medical parasitology, tailored to the needs of the student and the general and specific objectives of his Doctorateproject. III. In particular: a. The main challenges and current topics in the investigation, diagnosis and therapy of parasitic diseases; b. Parasite-host interaction and susceptibility / resistance factors; c. Genomics in parasitology and vector populations; d. Phylogeny and bioinformatics in the study of unknown parasite sequences; e. Problem of resistance to insecticides in the fight against vector-borne diseases; f. Importance of the perceptions of the population in the prevention and control of the diseases transmitted by vectors; IV. Main sources of information in Medical Parasitology, acquisition of competences in the selection of relevant information, its critical analysis, discussion and exposition.