Title:	Dengue, yellow fever and other arboviral diseases
Keywords:	Viral Vectors Research International/Global Health Emerging diseases
Country:	Portugal
Institution:	Portugal - Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical , Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Course coordinator:	Carla A. Sousa
Date start:	2024-06-27
Date end:	2024-07-10
About duration and dates:	6 days course (June 27, 28 + July 4, 5, from 13:30 to 19:30 h; July 2, 3, from 13:30 to 15:30 h) + 1 day assessment (July 10, from 10:30 to 12:30 h). Application deadline: May 24.
Classification:	advanced optional
Mode of delivery:	Face to face
Course location: Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT) Universidade Nova de Lisboa Rua da Junqueira Nº 100 1349-008 Lisboa Portugal
ECTS credit points:	2 ECTS credits
SIT: 60 hours SIT Contact: 30 hours (6 hours lectures, 18 hours practical laboratory classes, 2 hours seminar, 4 hours tutorials) Self-study: 30 hours English if a minimum of three non-Portuguese speaking students are enrolled.
Language:	English Portuguese
Description: At the end of this module, students should be able to contribute to research or to plan interventions to manage and control this group of diseases. Specifically, they should be able to: - appraise epidemiologic data on arboviral diseases (geographic distribution, reservoirs and vectors of the major arboviral diseases, including chikungunya, dengue, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile disease and Rift Valley fever; - assess the effects of climate and other environmental changes on mosquito-borne diseases; - discuss the risks of the introduction of exotic species of mosquitoes in Europe; - appraise different vector collection methods and diagnostic techniques in different logistic and organizational contexts; - design surveillance and control strategies to this group of diseases.
Assessment Procedures: If students do not attend at least two thirds of the lessons (4/6 days), they are automatically dismissed from the course without any refund. The final assessment has two components, with no minimum grade (the student need not pass both assessments but rather can compensate a low mark in one assessment with a higher mark in the other): 1. An individual written essay based on a "case study" of a dengue epidemic, of 2,000 ± 200 words (excluding figures, tables and bibliography), representing 65% of the final mark. 2. Continuous assessment of student’s performance in practical classes, representing 35% of the final mark. Different forms of individual assessment will take place during classes: identification of mosquito species; multiple-choice question quizzes; Kahoot learning exercises. Feedback is given during classes (continuous assessment) and during the final seminar, with participation of all the lecturers. For students failing (i.e., not reaching 9.5/20 as the final mark), a re-sit is available, as a written multiple-choice and open questions exam (grading based on rubric).
Content: - Arboviruses and arboviral diseases: definitions and types of disease transmission. Major arboviral infections, epidemiology and impact of climate change. - Main mosquito-borne arboviruses: classification, structure, genomic organization and replication cycle. - Arboviral diseases: a history of invasion and (re)emergence, and reasons behind it. - "Case study": Madeira island dengue outbreak. Information and field data will be presented based on which students will work on their written assignment. - Mosquito collection methods and morphological identification (adult and immature). - Entomological parameters important for the epidemiology of an arboviral infection: estimation of Human Blood Index by ELISA, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. - Clinical aspects of arboviral diseases. - Laboratorial diagnosis of the major arboviral infections. - Detection of alphavirus by RT-PCR, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. - Seminar based on the discussion of the written assignments.
Methods: The learning methods include: - lectures (6 h; 20% of the contact time): students are introduced to concepts; - practical laboratory work (18 h; 60% of the contact time): students actively participate in practical work using laboratorial protocols supervised by lecturers; - tutorials (4 h; 13% of the contact time): time made available to support individual learning process, and writing the individual assignment; - seminar (2 h; 7% of the contact time): students discuss results of written assignments.
Prerequisites: - Students should be proficient in Portuguese or English. Level of English proficiency expected: TOEFL test score 213 computer-based or 550 paper-based or 79-80 internet-based or IELTS band 6.0. - Students must have a degree in life sciences, but no particular laboratorial experience is needed.
Attendance: Minimum number of students: 10 Maximum number of students: 20 No limit for tropEd students.
Selection: First come, first served.
Fees: 720 €, for participants enrolled in the tropEd programme.
Scholarships: None
Major changes since initial accreditation: No major changes were made. Contents are currently more focused on arboviruses as a global health issue; more emphasis is now given to the student’s performance continuous assessment.
Student evaluation: tropEd student evaluations were carried out and systematically analysed in conjunction with regular students to ensure the preservation of their anonymity. Main positive aspects referred: good organization, relevant contents, with importance for their future work. The main negative aspect highlighted is the short duration of the course. Last evaluation by students: - course (mean of all parameters evaluated): 5,4/6 [min. 5 -max. 5,75] - lecturers (mean): 5,6/6 [min. 5,33 – max. 6].
Lessons learned: In order to afford students additional time for the preparation of their written assignments, the deadline for submission was extended by one week.
tropEd accreditation: Accredited in Umea, January 2014. This accreditation is valid until January 2019. Re-accreditation in Lisbon, January 2019. This accreditation is valid until January 2024.Re-Accredited in EC Telco, April 2024.This accreditation is valid until April 2029.
Remarks: This module is part of the IHMT M.Sc. courses in Medical Parasitology and Biomedical Sciences.
Email Address:	casousa@ihmt.unl.pt
Date Of Record Creation:	2014-02-05 04:42:34 (W3C-DTF)
Date Of Record Release:	2019-02-15 15:18:30 (W3C-DTF)
Date Record Checked:	2019-03-08 (W3C-DTF)
Date Last Modified:	2024-04-23 08:29:47 (W3C-DTF)