00714 - Microbiology (LZ-B)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will know:

• žgeneral characteristic of bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi and parasites
• žroutes of transmission
• žthe establishment of pathogenic host-parasite interaction
• žincubation period
• žthe role of immunity during the course of infection
• žthe meaning of production of infection and production of disease
• žthe diagnosis of infection (direct and indirect). Collection of specimens, request for testing, tests employed, interpretation of tests
• žbasic concept of prophylaxis and therapy
• žprinciple of treatment. Antimicrobial drugs and mechanism of resistance
• žmost relevant bacteria (focusing on their characteristic, mechanism of action, symptoms, diagnosis, therapy, available vaccine)
• žmost relevant viruses (focusing on their characteristic, mechanism of action, symptoms, diagnosis, therapy, available vaccine)
• žmost relevant protozoa, fungi and parasites (focusing on their characteristic, mechanism of action, symptoms, diagnosis, therapy, available vaccine).

Course contents

Microbiology (8 CFU).

Prof. Maria Carla Re and Prof. Tiziana Lazzarotto

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 gamma globulins.

Bacteria. Spores and their meaning, bacterial genetics, mechanism of action antimicrobial drugs, mechanism of bacterial resistance, diagnosis of bacterial infections.

Viruses. Classification, structure and replication cycle (DNA and RNA viruses), viral cultivation. Classical identification. New technology for virus identification. Antiviral drugs.

Bacteria. Sthaphilococci, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus agalactiae, Bacillus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Lysteria monocytogenes, Neisseria meningitidis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Enterobacteiaceae, Vibrio, Helicobacter, Campylobacter, Brucella, Legionella, clostridia, Chlamydia, treponemes, Mycoplasma.

Viruses. Enterovirus (Poliovirus, Coxsackievirus, Echo) Poxvirus, Herpesvirus, Papillomavirus, Polyomavirus, Orthomyxovirus, Paramyxovirus, Arenavirus, Filovirus, Rhabdovirus, Flavivirus, Togavirus, Coronavirus, Calicivirus, Retrovirus, the virus as etiologic agents of primary hepatitis.

Protozoa. Giardia intestinalis, Trichomonas vaginalis Trypanosoma, Leishamia, Amoebae, Plasmodia, Toxoplasma gondii, Pneumocistis carinii (Pneumocystis jirovecii).

Fungi. The most important fungal infections.

Readings/Bibliography

Michele La Placa. Principi di Microbiologia Medica. XIV Ed.

Teaching methods

In-class lectures will be supported by video projector and PC.

Assessment methods

Oral examination. At the end of the course, students must know the general characteristics of bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi and parasites, 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.

Office hours

See the website of Tiziana Lazzarotto