76209 - Clinical Microbiology

Learning outcomes

Define the general characteristic of bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi and helminths Describe the routes of transmission for infections of medical importance Discuss the establishment of host-parasite interaction Describe the basic concept of prophylaxis and antimicrobial and antiviral therapy, including mechanism of drug resistance Describe characteristics, pathogenesis, and clinical aspects for bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi and helminths of medical relevance Recognize and discuss the clinical meaning of microbiological findings within the diagnosis of infectious diseases

Course contents

1.Characteristics of bacteria of medical importance

2.Characteristics of viruses of medical importance

3.Pathogenesis of infections and host defense

4.Prophylaxis of infections: serum, immunoglobulines, vaccines. The vaccine development for SARS-CoV2 infection

5.Antibacterial drugs and antiviral drugs , mechanisms of drug resistance

6. Microbiological diagnosis -1

7. Microbiological diagnosis -2 : Innovative technologies for diagnostics microbiology

8. Biotechnologies in the diagnosis of bloodstream infections

9. Biotechnology and human microbiota

10. Gram-positive cocci (staphylococci, streptococci)

11. Gram-negative cocci (neisserieaeceae) and Gram-positive rods (clostridia)

12. Gram-negative rods belonging to Enterobacteriaceae, Campylobacter jejuni, Helicobacter pylori

13. Mycobacteria and Spirochetaes

14. Characteristics of fungi of medical importance: Candida and Aspergillus

15.Characteristics of protozoa of medical importance. Enteric protozoa. Other foodborne protozoa.

16. Vector-borne protozoa: leishmaniasis, malaria

17. DNA viruses: Herpesviridae, Papillomaviridae

18. RNA viruses -1; respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV2

19. RNA viruses -2; hepatitis viruses

20.RNA viruses -3; retroviruses and arboviruses

Readings/Bibliography

Patrick Murray, Ken S. Rosenthal, and Michael A. Pfaller. Medical Microbiology, 8th Edition, 2016. Elsevier. Available at the Biblioteca Biomedica

Patrick Murray, Ken S. Rosenthal, and Michael A. Pfaller. Medical Microbiology, 9th Edition, April 2020. Elsevier

Teaching methods

In-class lectures and on distance lectures will be available.

Assessment methods

The final exam consists of a questionnaire with 40 multiple choice questions (4 possible answers, one of which is correct) which will cover all the topics of the course (with a number of questions on the various topics proportional to the number of credits of each course / module). The exam will be considered passed (with a score of 18) when at least 22 questions are answered correctly. The mark of 30 with honors will be awarded in case all the answers to the questions are correct.

 

Teaching tools

In-class lectures will be supported by Power Point slides. Slides will be online available at the beginning of each lecture. The teaching material is available at https://virtuale.unibo.it/ by using student's username and password

Office hours

See the website of Stefania Varani

See the website of Vittorio Sambri