- Docente: Tiziana Lazzarotto
- Credits: 8
- Language: Italian
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Bologna
- Corso: Single cycle degree programme (LMCU) in Medicine and Surgery (cod. 8415)
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, the student will know:
- general characteristic of bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi and parasites
- routes of transmission
- the establishment of pathogenic host-parasite interaction
- incubation period
- the role of immunity during the course of infection
- the meaning of production of infection and production of disease
- the diagnosis of infection (direct and indirect). Collection of specimens, request for testing, tests employed, interpretation of tests
- basic concept of prophylaxis and therapy
- principle of treatment. Antimicrobial drugs and mechanism of resistance
- most relevant bacteria (focusing on their characteristic, mechanism of action, symptoms, diagnosis, therapy, available vaccine)
- most relevant viruses (focusing on their characteristic, mechanism of action, symptoms, diagnosis, therapy, available vaccine)
- most relevant protozoa, fungi and parasites (focusing on their characteristic, mechanism of action, symptoms, diagnosis, therapy, available vaccine).
Course contents
Teachers: prof.ssa Tiziana Lazzarotto and dr. Claudio Foschi
Medical microbiology. Manifestations of infection. Microbial causes of infection. Bacteria, viruses, protozoa and human infection. How microorganism cause diseases.
Immune response during the course of infection. Principles of direct and indirect diagnosis. Vaccines and gammaglobulins.
Bacteria. Structure, metabolism and reproduction. Spores and their meaning, bacterial genetics, mechanism of action antimicrobial drugs, mechanism of bacterial resistance. Diagnosis of bacterial infections.
Sthaphilococci, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus agalactiae, Bacillus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Lysteria monocytogenes, Gardnerella vaginalis, Mycobacterium, Neisseria, Actinomyces, Enterobacteiaceae, Vibrio, Helicobacter, Campylobacter, clostridia (Clostridium tetani, Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium perfrigens), spirochete, Chlamydia. Yersinia, Haemophilus, Pseudomonas, Legionella.
Protozoa. General characteristics of protozoa. Pathogenesis mechanisms. Drugs.
Giardia intestinalis, Trichomonas vaginalis, Trypanosoma, Leishamia, Amoebae, Plasmodia, Toxoplasma gondii.
Fungi. General characteristics of fungi. The most important fungal infections for humans. Yeast (Candida albicans e Candida spp), Pneumocystis jirovecii, Cryptococcus neoformans. Mould (Aspergillus spp). Dimorphic fungi (blastomycosis and histoplasmosis).
Viruses. Classification, structure and replication cycle (DNA and RNA viruses). Pathogenesis mechanisms. Diagnosis of viral infections. Antiviral drugs and Interferon.
Orthomyxovirus, Paramyxovirus, Enterovirus (Poliovirus, Coxsackievirus, Echovirus), Rubivirus, Parvovirus B19, Papillomavirus,
the virus as etiologic agents of primary hepatitis (HAV, HBV, HCV, HDV, HEV, ect), Filovirus, Flavivirus, Arbovirus, Herpesvirus, Retrovirus.
Readings/Bibliography
Suggested text-book: Michele La Placa. Principi di Microbiologia Medica, Edises, XIV Ed.
Teaching methods
In-class lectures will be supported by video projector and PC.
Assessment methods
The examination will evaluate whether the students have mastered the above listed skills and have reached the teaching objectives. The final oral examination will focus on specific questions about bacteriology, virology, mycology and parassitology (the mechanisms of pathogenesis, routes of transmission, microbiological diagnosis, therapy and vaccines).
Teaching tools
In-class lectures will be supported by slides. Most of slides will be available online at the end of the course (AMS Campus, http//campus.unibo.it).
Office hours
See the website of Tiziana Lazzarotto