Courses Taught by Arnold S Monto
EPID715: Control Of Infectious Disease: Vaccines And Other Interventions
- Graduate level
- Residential
- Summer term(s) for residential students;
- 1 credit hour(s) for residential students;
- Instructor(s): Arnold S Monto (Residential);
- Prerequisites: None
- Advisory Prerequisites: Recommended: An undergraduate degree in a health-related subject.
- Undergraduates are allowed to enroll in this course.
- Description: Infectious diseases, in their regular occurrence and in pandemics, are a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally, as such, their control is a major concern of public health. This course will describe the major infectious threats to the population and will discuss methods of control in the past, currently as well as developments in the pipeline. As the most effective control measure, the emphasis will be on vaccines, their development, use and how their effectiveness is evaluated. Other approaches which complement vaccine use will be described, emphasizing antivirals and non-pharmaceutical interventions. Special attention will be directed to pandemics, such as influenza, including avian influenza, HIV/AIDS and Covid-19.
- Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the course, students should be able to: 1. Identify many of the infections for which interventions are available 2. Understand why interventions are not currently available for infections of public health importance 3. Understand the basics of how vaccines protect both the individual and the population 4. Be able to identify the different types of vaccines and their advantages and disadvantages 5. Understand why vaccines are intended for different segments of the population, based on patterns of disease occurrence 6. Describe, in general terms, the way vaccines are evaluated before and after approval for use 7. Recognize the controversies that have developed about appropriate use of certain vaccines 8. Understand why interventions such as antivirals have been developed and how they can be used when no vaccine is available or to complement vaccines 9. Be able to identify the most recent pandemics and, in general terms, how vaccines, antivirals and non-pharmaceutical interventions can be used.
