07870 - Parasitic Diseases

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student knows the epidemiology, symptomatology, diagnosis and prophylaxis of the main parasitic diseases of domestic animals. He/she is able to correctly approach the management of a parasitosis, both by applying basic diagnostic tools and by correctly evaluating the consequences of the host / parasite / environment relationship, in order to control and prevent the pathological phenomenon and its socio-economic consequences.

Course contents

The lectures will focus on an introductory part which will illustrate the basic concepts related to the epidemiology and socio-economic aspects of parasitic diseases. The main zoonoses of parasitic origin will therefore be examined in detail, in particular Leishmaniasis, Toxoplasmosis, Cystic Echinococcosis, Cysticercosis, Trichinellosis. Subsequently, the main parasitoses that involve the gastrointestinal, respiratory, circulatory, integumentary and the reproductive spheres of livestock and companion animals (ruminants, pigs, horses, dogs, cats and rabbits) will be considered. For each parasitic disease, aspects related to aetiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical signs, diagnostic methods, treatment and control methods, possible national and European legislation will be considered.

The practical lessons will be of two types:

- Educational trips on the farm (one cattle and one pigs farms, in association with the course of Infectious Diseases of livestock held by Prof. Ostanello), which will be held in groups and will allow to deal with , directly in the farm, the managerial aspects able to influence the presence of parasites and to carry out a direct approach to the animal to collect faeces, blood and skin scrapings for diagnostic purposes.

- Laboratory activities (with students divided into 4 shifts, maximum 25 students each, to whom the same subjects will be administered) which will include: 1) parasitological analysis of samples collected during the visits in the farms, 2) post mortem parasitological analysis: starting from organs collected in public slaughterhouses, students will autonomously isolate, observe and identify the parasites present; 3) interactive presentations using the "clicker" system to discuss with students about aspects related to parasitic diseases of small animals.

The timing related to the different educational activities are highlighted in the syllabus of the course present on the website of the degree course in veterinary medicine. (https://corsi.unibo.it/magistralecu/MedicinaVeterinaria/syllabi-terzo-anno)

Readings/Bibliography

Teaching material (slides and notes) provided by the teacher on the "Insegnamenti OnLine" Platform (https://iol.unibo.it/)

recommended texts for further information

- Deplazes P., Eckert J., Mathis A., von Samson-Himmelstjerna G., Zahner H., Parasitology for Veterinary Medicine, Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen, 2016.

- “Parassitologia Zootecnica”, Marcello Ambrosi – Edagricole (in biblioteca)

- ESCCAP guidelines for companion animals available on: https://www.esccap.org/

- Parassitologia e Malattie Parassitarie degli Animali” Taylor, Coop, Wall (traduzione italiana di Garippa, Manfredi, Otranto) - EMSI Edizioni Mediche Scientifiche Internazionali, Roma, 2010. ISBN 978-88-86669-75-7

Teaching methods

The course includes both lectures and practical laboratory activities and guided farm visits.

Every activity subject of practical exercises in the laboratory is carried out by the student individually or in small groups and subjected to verification and discussion with the teachers and his collaborators,

Assessment methods

The final assessment of the teaching of Parasitic Diseases will consist of an oral test which aims to verify the acquisition of the knowledge provided according to the objectives of the course and will be considered passed after the correct answer to two main questions related to the topics treated. The evaluation of the candidate's preparation may use additional questions aimed at specifying aspects relating to the two main questions.

In evaluating the candidate's answers, the commission will pay particular attention in evaluating the acquisition of a logical-deductive method in the presentation of the contents.

Particular attention will be paid to the student's ability to reason in a transversal way and to connect the notions of the various parts of teaching with each other and with the information deriving from the courses of previous years with particular regard to parasitology and general pathology.

The test will be passed when the candidate obtains a minimum score of 18 points out of 30.

The teaching is part of the integrated course TRANSMISSIBLE DISEASES AND EPIDEMIOLOGY, which also includes the teachings of “Infectious diseases of farm animals”, “Infectious diseases of companion animals”, “Epidemiology”. Fabio Ostanello is the teacher responsible for verbalizing the integrated course.

The final grade of the integrated course "Transmissible Diseases and Epidemiology" is calculated based on the weighted average of the final assessments of the different courses that compose it.

Teaching tools

The lecturers are conducted in a classroom equipped with multimedia equipment (PC and video projector for PC), using mainly PowerPoint slides; the practical lessons will be carried out at farms that are available, making use of a rental bus, and in DIMEVET laboratories equipped for the diagnostic activity, also taking advantage of the "clicker" system available for the Degree Course.

Office hours

See the website of Roberta Galuppi