BIO580 MEDICAL
MICROBIOLOGY
Syllabus Fall
2003
A. General information
Infection is a conflict
between a host and a microorganism with two possible outcomes, resistance or
disease, dependent on interactions between the infectious agent and the host’s immune
response. Medical microbiology, therefore, is a discipline that includes the
study of the microorganisms, the host immune system, and interactions between
the two. Although bacteria and viruses are the most numerous and most important
pathogens and are emphasized in this course in lecture and clinical case
studies, fungi and protozoa are also included. The goal of this course is to
provide a foundation of concepts in host-microbe interactions that will allow
students to understand the diseases facing humans today and be prepared to
understand the diseases coming tomorrow.
Medical Microbiology is an
advanced course and will be taught at a rigorous level. Most of the students
who take this course are interested in pursuing a career in health related fields
or are graduate students in microbiology and are ready for a course that
requires synthesis, integration, and application rather than rote memorization.
B. Course
logistics.
Lectures
meet Mon. and Wed from
Course
instructor:
Dr. Elizabeth Alm
Office hours: Office
hours will be posted. I will have a sign-up sheet outside my door and if
you sign up for a time 1) I will be there, and 2) you will not be waiting too
long on other students.
e-mail: alm1ew@cmich.edu (Note:
this is the easiest way to reach me). Important: If you have a BIO580 question,
put "BIO580" as the beginning of the subject line of your e-mail
message. I group these for reading at one time a day. If you fail to include
this header I may miss your question.
Example:
To:
Elizabeth.W.Alm <alm1ew@cmich.edu>
From:
Susan B. Student <stude1sb@cmich.edu> Subject: BIO580: questions on
today’s lecture
Prerequisites: Bio208 (General
Microbiology) and Bio392 (Mammalian Physiology). Bio324 (Cell Biology) is also
recommended.
C. Required
materials
Textbook: Mims, Playfair, Roitt,
Wakelin, and Williams. (1998) Medical
Microbiology 2nd Ed., Mosby Europe Limited,
Access to the
World Wide Web and an e-mail account. I will be posting many class materials on the Web,
and expect every student to check the Web site for announcements a couple times
a week. I can be reached more easily by e-mail than by any other method, and
will reply to any concern or question you raise if you have an e-mail account.
Go to the computer center help desk to find out how to obtain and use e-mail
(available free to all students).
D. Laboratory
All organisms handled in the laboratory have the
potential to cause illness, especially in compromised individuals (about half
of the organisms are classified as Biological Safety Level 2). Compromising
conditions include cancer, chemotherapy, diabetes, HIV positivity, open wounds,
pregnancy, steroid use, etc. See me if you have concerns about your safety in
laboratory. All inquiries will be confidential.
E. Clinical
Cases
Three important skills in medical microbiology are
problem-solving, interacting with other professionals, and oral and written
communication skills. Development of these skills is also an objective in this
course. Written communication skills will be developed throughout the semester
in essay exam questions. The other skills will be emphasized in the second half
of the semester. For the first half of the semester, both the lecture and
laboratory will emphasize basic concepts and skills and will operate fairly
independent of one another. After the Midterm exam, the labs and lectures will
be integrated by way of clinical cases. Case study groups will consist of 4-5
students. Clinical cases will be handed out to each group in lecture at the
beginning of the week. Some cases will be accompanied by a clinical sample that
you will receive and work with in the laboratory. At least some members of the
group will need to come in at times other than scheduled lab times to continue
identification of the unknown. Case reports will be collected and graded. One
report for the group will be turned in and all members of the group will
receive the same grade.
Books on 2 h
reserve in library:
Bailey
and Scott's Diagnostic Microbiology. Betty A. Forbes. 1998. QR67.B37 1998
Cellular microbiology: Bacteria-host interactions in
health and disease. Brian Henderson, et al. 1999.
Compact
American Medical Dictionary. 1998. R121.C665 1998.
Medical
Microbiology. Patrick R. Murray. 1998. QR46.M4683 1998.
Microbiology.
T. Stuart Walker. 1998. QR46.W245 1998.
Microbiology
in Clinical Practice. D.C. Shanson. 1999. QR46.S478 1999.
The
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary. 1995. R121.A53 1995.
Zinsser
Microbiology. Wolfgang K. Joklik, ed. 1992. QR46.26 1992
F. Reading
assignments
G. Grades
Quizzes and
Tests:
10-15 point quizzes may consist of a mixture of material from lectures and
laboratories. Tests may include a mixture of different types of questions, such
as short-answer, multiple-choice, true-false, and/or short essay. There will be a Midterm laboratory
practical; a makeup will not be possible for this test under any circumstances.
Final Exam: The final exam is
comprehensive.
Grading:
|
|
Undergraduates |
Graduates |
|
Quizzes |
10% |
8% |
|
Lecture Test One |
10% |
8% |
|
Lecture Test Two |
15% |
13% |
|
Bacterial Unknown |
10% |
8% |
|
Lab Practical |
15% |
13% |
|
Case Reports |
20% |
17% |
|
Final Comprehensive Exam |
20% |
17% |
|
Additional
Required Elements |
|
17% |
Grading Scale:
|
94+ = A |
80-83.9 = B- |
|
90-93.9 = A- |
77-79.9 = C+ |
|
87-89.9 = B+ |
74-76.5 = C |
|
84-86.9 = B |
70-73.9 = C- |
H. Students
requiring accommodations
CMU
provides students with disabilities reasonable accommodation to participate in educational
programs, activities or services. Students with disabilities requiring
accommodation to participate in class activities or meet course requirements
should first register with the office of Student Disability Services (250 Foust
Hall, telephone #989-774-3018, TDD #2568), and then contact me as soon as
possible.
I. Makeup
policy
Makeup exams are available only to students who have
a legitimate excuse for missing an exam, such as personal illness or injury,
sanctioned athletic team event out of town, or death in the immediate family.
If you know in advance that you must miss an exam, see me in advance and bring
documentation to support your anticipated absence. If you miss an exam
unexpectedly because of last-minute illness or accident, contact me when you
return to campus (or by email or phone if you will be away for some time) with
documentation of your situation. Makeups for the final exam will be scheduled
for Friday of exam week.
J. Extra
credit
Students wishing to make up for poorer than expected
exams may write essays for a maximum addition of 10 points to the total course
points.
Essays - You may write up to five
short (2-3 pages, double-spaced) essays on Medical Micro related topics during
the semester. Due dates for each essay opportunity will be posted in "Instructor
Announcements" on the web page. Each essay submitted will earn up to 2
points added to the total course points, as follows:
·
2 points - good work, appropriate references,
·
1/2 to 1 point - basically acceptable content but marred by mechanical
problems such as incorrect spelling or grammar, or lack of clarity in
explaining the topic, lack of or inappropriate references,
·
0 point - unacceptable or plagiarized.
**Any evidence of plagiarism will
result in zero points for all students involved and denial of any extra credit
points otherwise earned in the course. Essays should integrate at least
two articles from the primary literature, not textbooks or internet sources.
K. How to
succeed in this course
As you proceed upward in course level difficulty
from 100 to 200 to 300, and so on, you need to develop greater responsibility for
your own learning. The ultimate goal of college is to develop independent
learners and critical thinkers. Therefore, you will find that less structured
learning assistance is provided for you in this course. This does not mean that
I am not still happy to help you with any material during my office hours.
In order to succeed in this course you should plan
to attend all lectures, take careful notes, allow ample time to read and study
assigned material and turn assignments in on time. You will get more out of
lectures if you read (or at least skim) the assigned readings before lecture
and then reread relevant material carefully soon after lecture.
You should plan on spending a minimum of two hours of study
time for each hour of lecture. This is standard academic advice you will
find in any book on how to study. This is a minimum requirement for most
students to perform satisfactorily (C level). If you desire an "A",
you will probably need to put in more time than this minimum recommendation. If
you begin to fall behind, make every effort to catch up quickly, otherwise you
may find yourself swamped with too much material to assimilate before a test. Tips for scheduling
your time.
Many of you will find attending lectures and reading
the text is all the support you will need to do well in the course. Some of you
may have problems with some of the material. I offer several forms of
assistance to help you with difficulties you may experience in this course.
1. I will be happy to repeat
information and/or answer questions during lecture, please do not hesitate to
ask me to do so. Also feel free to email questions to me at any time.
2. The textbook provides
concept guides throughout the chapter as well as chapter end questions. The
questions in the chapter should help guide your reading. If you can't answer
the questions, then you should reread that section more closely. Use the chapter
end questions to practice writing essays over the material.
3. A web page is available for
this course: http://www.cst.cmich.edu/users/alm1ew/medimicro.html.
This web page will contain links to additional internet resources.
4. There is an extra credit
possibility in this course. See J. above for more information.
5. I am available for
individual consultation regarding any aspect of the course. If you have
unanswered questions or concerns, or are in serious academic trouble, see me! I
will provide whatever assistance I can to help you do well in this course;
however, ultimately the grade you earn is your responsibility.
L. Recommended
and optional material
Your grade will be based on how well you master the
required elements listed above. In addition to required elements that all
students must undertake, this course will provide recommended and optional
elements. Recommended reading material marked FYI will be provided for students
who are interested in exploring a particular topic in a little more detail.
Optional material will be provided upon request for students with further
interest or aptitude in medical microbiology. Undertaking recommended and
optional material will not add to or subtract from your grade. This is purely a
means for students to take the subject of medical microbiology as far as they
are interested. If you have ideas about optional material, please feel free to
come see me.
M. Annotated
bibliography
There are dozens of interesting books on medical
microbiology, particularly in the area of emerging diseases. Some that I have
read and recommend include:
1. The Coming Plague: Newly
Emerging Diseases in a World out of Balance by Laurie Garrett. 1994. Penguin
Books USA Inc.
2. The Hot Zone by Richard
Preston. 1994. Anchor Books Doubleday. New York. Very exciting book that focuses
on the true (but somewhat sensationalized) story of an outbreak of Ebola virus
that occurred in Reston, Virginia in 1993. I highly recommend this book. 422
pages. $6.99 paperback. ISBN 0-385-47956-5.
3. Breakout: The Evolving
Threat of Drug-Resistant Disease by Marc Lappe. 1995. Sierra Club Books. San
Francisco. Not as breathtaking as the above books but has an interesting
Darwinian viewpoint on the evolution of antimicrobial resistance. 255 pages,
$14.00 paperback. ISBN 0-87156-382-7.
4. When Plague Strikes by James
Cross Giblin. 1995. Harper Collins Publishers Inc. New York. A very easy to
read history of three plagues, The Black Death, Smallpox, and AIDS. 212 pages,
$6.95 paperback. ISBN 0-06-446195-5.
Tentative
schedule - any schedule changes will be posted on the course web site
|
DATE |
LECTURE TOPIC |
READING |
LABORATORY TOPIC |
|
M Aug 25 |
Unit 1 - The Players Course
introduction; Dynamics of infectious disease - concept check 1 available
online. |
Ch.1 |
Diagnostic Principles Laboratory
1 - Gram stain and streak plate method of isolation |
|
W Aug 27 |
Part A - Review of the microbes Symbiosis;
Viruses and bacteria - concept check 2 available online. |
Chs.
2, 3 |
Laboratory
2 - Colony morphology |
|
M Sep 1 |
Labor
Day - No Class |
|
|
|
W Sep 3 |
Eucaryotic
microbial pathogens and normal microbiota |
|
Laboratory
3 - Initial grouping of unknown clinical bacteria |
|
M Sep 8 |
Part B - Host defenses Nonspecific
host defenses against microbial invaders - concept check 3 available online. |
Ch.4 |
Laboratory
4 - Identification of Gram-positive cocci |
|
W Sep10 |
Nonspecific
continued |
|
Laboratory
5 - continued |
|
M Sep 15 |
Specific
host defenses against microbial invaders |
Chs.5,
6 |
QUIZ
1 - Labs 1-5 Laboratory
6 - Identification of Enterobacteriaceae |
|
T Sep16 |
|
|
Read
results from Laboratory 6 |
|
W Sep17 |
Specific
defenses continued |
|
Laboratory
7 - continued |
|
M Sep 22 |
TEST ONE - UNIT ONE |
|
Laboratory
8 - Identification of Oxidase-positive Gram-negative Rods and Cocci |
|
W Sep 24 |
Unit 2 - Conflicts Between Host and Pathogens How
are pathogens acquired and transmitted? |
Chs.7,
8 |
Laboratory
9 - Identification of Gram-positive Rods |
|
M Sep 29 |
Conflicts
continued- concept check 4 available online |
Chs.9,10 |
Laboratory
10 - Bacterial Unknown assigned; An Introduction to Anaerobes |
|
T Sep30 |
|
|
Work
on Unknown |
|
W Oct 1 |
How
do pathogens escape nonspecific host defenses? |
Ch.11 |
QUIZ
2 - Labs 6-10 Laboratory
11 - Intro to yeasts/ Continue Unknowns |
|
R, F Oct 2,3 |
|
|
Continue
Unknown if necessary |
|
M Oct 6 |
How
do pathogens escape specific host defenses?- concept check 5 available
online. |
Microbial
spread |
Laboratory
12 - Intro to Molds |
|
W Oct 8 |
|
Ch.12 |
Open
Lab - Review for midterm; Unknown reports due by 5 pm. |
|
M Oct 13 |
Continued |
|
LABORATORY PRACTICAL EXAM Laboratories 1 through 12 |
|
W Oct 15 |
TEST TWO - UNIT TWO Comprehensive with an emphasis on Unit 2 |
Ch
15 |
Unit 3 - Clinical Manifestations of Infection Clinical
Case Problem-Solving; Upper Respiratory Tract Infections |
|
M Oct 20 |
Ch.
17 |
Clinical
Case 1 due Laboratory
13 - Lower Respiratory Tract Infections |
|
|
W Oct 22 |
|
|
Laboratory
14 - continued |
|
M Oct 27 |
QUIZ
3 -RTI |
Chs.18,
19 |
Clinical
Cases 2 and 3 due Laboratory
15 - UTI and STD |
|
W Oct 29 |
|
|
Laboratory
16 - continued |
|
M Nov 3 |
QUIZ
4 -UTI and STD |
Ch.20 |
Clinical
Cases 4 and 5 due 2 pm Laboratory
17 - GI infections |
|
W Nov 5 |
|
|
Laboratory
18 - continued |
|
M Nov 10 |
QUIZ 5 - GI Nervous
System Infections |
Ch.22 |
Clinical
Case 6 due Laboratory
19 - CNS |
|
W Nov 12 |
|
|
Laboratory
20 - continued, |
|
M Nov 17 |
QUIZ 6 - CNS Infections
of the skin and wounds |
Ch.23 |
Clinical
Cases 7 and 8 due 2 pm Laboratory
21 - Skin and Wound Infections |
|
W Nov 19 |
|
|
Laboratory
22 - continued |
|
M Nov 24 |
QUIZ
7 - SKIN Unit 4 - Control of Microbial Infections Antimicrobial action |
Chs.29,
30 |
Clinical
Cases 9 and 10 due Laboratory
23 - Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing |
|
T Nov 25 |
|
|
continued |
|
W Nov 26 |
Antimicrobial
action continued |
|
Laboratory
24 - continued |
|
M Dec 1 |
Antimicrobial
resistance |
|
Laboratory
25 - Transfer of Antibiotic Resistance |
|
W Dec 3 |
Immunization
strategy; Probiotic and prophage therapy |
Ch.31 |
Laboratory
26 - continued |
|
M Dec 8 |
FINAL EXAM Comprehensive with an emphasis on Units 3 and 4 BR 201 2-3:50 pm |
|
|