Unit information: Wildlife Diseases and Integrated Health in 2018/19

Unit name	Wildlife Diseases and Integrated Health
Unit code	VETSM0036
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	. Eisler
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Bristol Veterinary School
Faculty	Faculty of Health Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

This Unit will provide an introduction to basic concepts in wildlife diseases & epidemiology. It will outline the different types of pathogen and host, the impact of diseases on wildlife individuals and populations (using practical examples such as brucellosis in Bison, tuberculosis in white-tailed deer, white nose syndrome in bats, anthrax in hippopotamus, chytridiomycosis in amphibians and phocine distemper in seals), movement of disease among wildlife, domestic animals and man, and how to identify & monitor diseases in both captive and free-living animal populations. The Unit will go on to describe the treatment and control of infectious diseases, including vaccination, movement control & culling, and the modelling of infectious disease outbreaks. Students will be taught a critical awareness of currents problems in wildlife disease, including the impacts of human activities on the incidence and distribution of wildlife diseases via habitat destruction, international travel, global trade, climate change etc. Special emphasis will be placed on wildlife diseases of human significance (e.g. rabies, Ebola, SARS, avian influenza, bovine TB etc) and on how to distinguish endemic from emerging diseases. Attention will also be given to wildlife as a source of food for people and the relevance of the safety of that food.

Intended Learning Outcomes

1. A broad overview of the nature of infectious diseases at the human, domestic and wild animal interface.
2. An understanding of key topics relating to the epidemiology of wildlife diseases and the role and importance of wildlife in infectious disease emergence.
3. A basic working knowledge of quantitative epidemiological infectious disease modelling.
4. A broad understanding of the effects of human activities, including environmental modification, globalisation and climate change, on the health of wildlife populations.
5. Familiarity with international organisations, legislation and processes regulating and influencing the transmission of infectious diseases of among wild animals, domestic animals and humans.

Teaching Information

Knowledge and understanding will be developed by following a structured syllabus, evaluating directed reading, and by engaging in problem-solving exercises. The unit will be taught through lectured material, practical and computer laboratory work, tutorials, student assignments and interactive discussions. Lectures and tutorials will be delivered by researchers who are experts in the relevant fields. During this unit students will work in groups to design a presentation on an allocated wildlife health-related topic to be delivered to, and discussed with, their peers.

Assessment Information

The student's performance on this unit will be assessed by a combination of an individual written report (50%) and by a formal end-of-unit written examination (50%).

Reading and References

The following are some examples of recommended texts. Others will be suggested by individual tutors during their teaching sessions.

• Botzler, Richard G., Richard N. Brown (2014). Foundations of Wildlife Diseases. University of California Press. ISBN-13: 978-0520276093
• Kaplan, B., Kahn, L.H. and Monath, T.P. (Eds) (2009). One Health - One Medicine: linking human, animal and environmental health. Veterinaria Italiana 45(1) Jan-Mar 2009 (218pp). ISBN 88-901726-0-1. Online ISSN 1828-1427.
• OIE Terrestrial animal health code. Volumes I & II, 2015. http://www.oie.int/international-standard-setting/terrestrial-code/access-online/
• Osofsky, S.A., Cleaveland, S., Karesh, W.B., Kock, M.D., Nyhus, P.J., Starr, L. and Yang, A. (Eds). (2005). Conservation and Development Interventions at the Wildlife/Livestock Interface: Implications for Wildlife, Livestock and Human Health. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. xxxiii + 220pp. ISBN: 2-8317-0864-8.
• Wobeser, Gary A. (Editor) (2005). Essentials of Disease in Wild Animals. John Wiley & Sons; ISBN-13: 978-0813805894.