Plagues, Pestilence and Pandemics: Are You Ready?

FutureLearn Plagues, Pestilence and Pandemics: Are You Ready?

Platform
FutureLearn
Provider
Griffith University
Effort
3 hours/week
Length
2 weeks
Language
English
Credentials
Paid Certificate Available
Course Link
Overview
Learn how to contain disease and fight future pandemics
Plagues may seem like an occurrence of the past, but outbreaks of infectious disease exist all over the world today. This online course will look at the current and emerging threat of global health pandemics and our response to them.

You’ll explore the science of infection and the spread of infectious diseases, identifying how microorganisms spread and manifest in the body. You’ll discover the challenges that re-emerging epidemics and bacterial resistance pose to disease prevention in diverse communities. And you’ll determine how to contain disease effectively and prevent future pandemics.

This course is designed for healthcare workers, particularly student healthcare workers, student nurses, policy makers and dentists.

What topics will you cover?
  • The science of infection and disease and the distinction between the two. Not all infections cause disease and not all diseases may be due to infection.
  • Microorganisms: how they spread, and how they manifest in the body to cause disease.
  • Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases: emerging infections are those that have newly appeared in a population whereas re-emerging infections are those that existed in the past (SARS, EBOLA) but have reappeared.
  • A discussion of bacterial resistance, how bacteria evolve to become resistant to things that are meant to kill them.
  • Contemporary communicable diseases and healthcare-associated infections at a global, regional, national and local level.
  • Outbreak responses, identifying and breaking the chain of infection through good hygiene and standard precautions.
  • You have a role to play: practical containment and prevention strategies.

Taught by
Dr Peta-Anne Zimmerman
Author
FutureLearn
Views
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