FHE4130 – Infection Epidemiology, Prevention and Control
Course content
The course introduces the science of occurrence, causes and consequences of infectious diseases in the population, as well as the effects of infection control measures.
Students will learn infectious disease transmission models and how they are used to interpret epidemiological data. They will parameterize the models, and study the dynamics of infections and the theory of epidemics.
We will discuss examples of how models are used in short-term forecasting and to estimate the effects of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions in different settings by using scenario analysis. Examples for how models informed decision making during the COVID-19 pandemic will be discussed. Besides the modelling of infection spread, the consequences of infection, potentially ranging from severe disease to neglectable outcomes, will be discussed.
The course introduces measures taken to prevent the spread of infections within healthcare settings and communities, including practices like hand hygiene and proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
The students will learn how systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data related to infectious diseases can be used to monitor trends, identify risk factors and perform risk assessments, and provide timely information to public health authorities to detect and respond to outbreak.
The course will define the characteristics of epidemics versus pandemics and provide an overview of the known pandemics of human history. What can we learn from these, as well as the recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic?
A topic included in the course is the perception of risk, related to the balance between possible preventive measures and the threat faced in a pandemic situation. The course will have both a national and global perspective.
Learning outcome
-
The chain of infection
-
Incubation period and latency period
-
Modes of transmission
-
The epidemiological triad; the interaction between microorganisms (infectious agent), host and environment
-
Outcome (death, immune, non-immune, carrier) upon exposure to various infectious agents
-
An introduction to infectious disease modelling, exemplified by the Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR) model
-
Familiarity with fundamental epidemiological concepts, including the reproductive number (R_0), exponential growth, depletion of susceptibles, herd immunity and final size of epidemic
-
Epidemic and endemic infections and factors influencing trends in incidence
-
Control of infections through vaccination and non-pharmaceutical intervention policies
-
Place model development and use into different realistic epidemic and pandemic scenarios
-
Introduce global equity and risk distribution as considerations for modelling of preventive measures
-
Understanding the key principles of infection control (prevention is better than cure).
-
Getting an overview of the different data sources and their relevance for an efficient epidemic intelligence system (indicator based and event based surveillance)
-
Understanding the key principles of outbreak detection and response (10 steps of an outbreak investigation in theory and practice)
-
Knowledge of pandemic events in known history, and the preventive measures used at different times
-
Getting an overview of viruses that today are considered potential future pandemic threats, as well as the current status of vaccine development against these
-
Getting an overview of disease risk and risk management in the context of public perception
Admission to the course
The course is available for students at the following master programmes:
Students enrolled in other Master's programmes at the Institute of Health and Society can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Teaching
Lectures and seminars.
Examination
Oral examination, individual
Examination and grading at The Faculty of Medicine.
Language of examination
The examination questions are given in English. You may submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about?the grading system.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- How to use AI as a student
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.