Attendance of 100% is reqired for the practical lessons. Students are allowed to miss three practicals on a respective subject in one semester, out of these, one practical may be missed without compensation and the remaining two they are obliged to compensate, usually in the first three weeks after the end of semester. A student may be given at most two compensatory terms for

the completion of two missing practicals

Understanding epidemiologic principles, etiology, frequence, distribution of diseases in animal populatuions. Definitions of infectious process, epizootiological process, etiological agents, ways of transmission of this agents, sources of etiological agents and zoonoses. Student have to understand the basic principles of laboratory diagnostics of infectious diseases as well as safety regulations during laboratory work. Students will be able to perform monitoring and analysis of epizootological situation, prepare strategies for outbreak investigation, disease control and prevention in animal populations.

This subject iís divided into folowing parts. First part of the subject focuses on basic definitions in veterinary epidemiology and epidemiological approaches. Second part of the subject focuses on the infectious disease, infectious process, epizootic process, the ways of transmission of etiological agents and factors affecting communicability of infectious diseases. Third part focuses on outbreak investigation, risk assesment and analysis of epizootic situation with a focus on epizootic strategies and prevention. In practical part the subject provides basic information on safety regulations, sampling of material and general information on laboratory diagnostics and laboratory methods. Practical part also focuses on counting in epizootiology and statistical analysis.

Lectures:

1. Introduction to study objectives and methods of epidemiology and infectology.

2. Epidemiological approaches. Applications of epidemiology in veterinary practice.

3. Defining the limits of normality (validity, reliability, variation, distributions, reference ranges).

4. Infectious process, infectious disease, classification of infectious diseases.

5. Epizootic process.

6. Source and transmission of disease agents.

7. Factors affecting communicability of disease agents.

8. Outbreak investigation (occurrence, cause, susceptibility, source, transmission, control).

9. Risk assesment and prevention.

10. Analysis of epizootological situation.

11. Epizootological strategy and measures. Preventive antiepizootic measures.

12. Organization of epizootiological activities.

13. Relations between infectious diseases of animals and man surveillance of zoonoses.

Practicals:

1. Safety regulations manipulation with the infectious material. Material sampling, packing and dispatching for laboratory examinations at diagnostics of infectious diseases and immunity state control.

2. Evaluation of diagnostic tests, test accuracy, comparison of diagnostic tests.

3. Use of diagnostic tests, calculation of probability of disease, multiple tests, screening for disease.

4. Measuring the commonness of diseases (prevalence, incidence, case definition).

5. Measuring and expressing occurrence.

6. Reporting of infectious diseases, analysis of the epizootological situation.

7. Preventive antiinfectious measures (protection of the state territory, preventive measures, emergency schedules).

8. Measuring and communicating prognoses.

9. Design and evaluation of clinical trials

10. Statistical significance.

11. Decision analysis. Strategy to reduce frequency of disease.

12. Case study I (seminar)

13. Case study II (seminar)

R.D. Smith: Veterinary Clinical epidemiology, Third Edition, Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, 2006, 249pp

Sergeant and Perkins: Epidemiology for field veterinarians, an introduction, CABI, 2015, ISBN:9781845936839, 311pp

Content prerequisite:

Microbiology, immunology and parasitology

Continuous assessment:

Not determined.

Conditions for completion of course:

Attendance of 100% is reqired for the practical lessons. Students are allowed to miss three practicals on a respective subject in one semester, out of these, one practical may be missed without compensation and the remaining two they are obliged to compensate, usually in the first three weeks after the end of semester. A student may be given at most two compensatory terms for

the completion of two missing practicals

Final assessment:

Evaluation of the course: written exam test evaluated by a six-point classification grading scale according thestudy guidelines of the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice.