The key requirement for the successful completion of the course is the completion of the entire specialised study programme. Students are obliged to attend practical exercises pursuant to Section A Art. 16 of the Study Guidelines of the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice of 24 August 2023. Successful results of continuous study revisions (students must obtains a minimum of 51%) – one test in the studied course during the semester with a value of 100 points (100%), evaluated as described in Section A Art. 20 – Evaluation of Study Results at the UVMP in Košice.

The examination consists of one oral exam in parasitic diseases and one oral exam in infectious diseases. The resulting mark combines the result of the credit test (20%) and both oral exams (80%).

Students will obtain the basic knowledge of parasitic and infectious diseases in companion animals, with the emphasis on the zoonoses classified by WOAH and WHO. Students will apply the obtained knowledge in their out-patient as well as clinical practice in various profession areas (expert activities for private veterinary doctors, expert activities for diagnostic laboratories), in the performance of epizootological and epidemiological activities related to the protection of health of humans and animals, prevention of parasitic and infectious diseases, as well as the environmental protection.

The objective is to study the most important and most frequently occurring parasitic and infectious diseases in companion animals in terms of their geographical presence, etiology, epizootology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, disease course and clinical manifestations, pathological and morphological changes, diagnostics and prevention of diseases. The main emphasis is put on the biological aspects and correct diagnostic methods in parasitology and infectology. The course is divided into two units (Parasitary Diseases and Infectious Diseases), which are based on the knowledge obtained in the study of basic laboratory methods and the basics in microbiology, parasitology and immunology. The main focus of the course is the study of helminthoses, protozoan diseases and ectoparasitosis, bacterial, viral and mycotic diseases in dogs, cats, small mammals, reptiles, birds and horses.

OUTLINE OF LECTURES – 2 lessons/week (13 weeks; total: 26 lessons)

1. Protozoology, basic systematic classification of unicellular organisms, general characteristics, morphology, life cycles. Leishmaniasis and giardiasis in carnivores

2. Eimeriosis, cryptosporidiosis, cystoisosporiasis, sarcocystosis and toxoplasmosis in companion animals

3. Vector-borne blood parasites in companion animals. Trematodiases (opisthorchiasis, paragonimiasis, metagonimiasis) in companion animals

4. Cestodoses in carnivores, horses, birds and small mammals

5. Nematodoses in companion animals (ascaridiases, strongyloidiases, trichuriases). Trichinellosis, filariases, spiruridiases in companion animals

6. Arachnidiases in companion animals (tick-borne diseases, scabies). Entomoses in companion animals (lice, fleas)

7. Infectious and parasitic diseases in reptiles and amphibians

8. Basic terms, infectious disease, infectious process, infection sources, transmission routes, general classification of infectious diseases, infectious disease diagnostics principle, reporting of infectious diseases

9. Zoonoses, general characteristics, occurrence in companion animals

10. Infectious bacterial, viral and mycotic diseases in dogs and cats

11. Infectious bacterial, viral and mycotic diseases in small mammals

12. Infectious bacterial, viral and mycotic diseases in birds

13. Infectious bacterial, viral and mycotic diseases in horses

OUTLINE OF PRACTICAL EXERCISES – 2 lessons/week (13 weeks; total: 26 lessons)

1. Rules of the work in the parasitology laboratory. Sampling, packing and dispatching materials for parasitology tests

2. Diagnostics of blood protozoa and intestinal protozoa in carnivores

3. Diagnostics of selected helminths and ectoparasites in carnivores

4. Diagnostics of parasitoses in horses

5. Diagnostics of parasitoses in birds

6. Diagnostics of parasitoses in small animals (rodents, lagomorphs)

7. Diagnostics of infectious and parasitic diseases in reptiles and amphibians

8. Safety rules for the use of and handling infectious materials. Sampling, packing, designating, registration and dispatch of samples for laboratory tests, basic diagnostic methods

9. Work safety rules and methodical procedures in the occurrence of zoonoses

10. Clinical and laboratory diagnostics of the most common infectious diseases in dogs and cats

11. Clinical and laboratory diagnostics of the most common infectious diseases in small mammals

12. Clinical and laboratory diagnostics of the most common infectious diseases in birds

13. Clinical and laboratory diagnostics of the most common infectious diseases in horses

Foreyt, W.J.: Veterinaty Parasitology, Reference Manual. Fifth Edition., A Blackwell Publishing Company, 2001, 235 pp.

Service M.: Medical entomology for students. Fifth Edition, Cambridge, 2012, 303 pp.

Williams R.E.: Veterinary entomology Livestock and Companion Animals.CRC Press, 2010, 343 pp.

Zeibig E.A.: Clinical Parasitology – A practical approach. Second Edition, Elsevier, 2013, 370 pp.

Beugnet F., Halos L., Guillot J.: Textbook of Clinical Parasitology in dogs and cats. Boehringer Ingelheim, 2018, 413 pp.

Weese J.S., Evason, M.: Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, CRC Press, Tailor & Francis Group, 2020, 312 pp.

Ramsey I.K., Tennant B.J.: Manual of Canine and Feline Infectious Diseases, BSAVA, 2001, 288 pp.

Gavier-Widén D., Duff J.P., Meredith A.: Infectious Diseases of Wild Mammals and Birds in Europe, Wiley-Blackwell, 2012, 554 pp.

Content prerequisite:

Basics of laboratory diagnostics; Fundamentals of microbiology, parasitology and immunology;

Continuous assessment:

Credit test (max. 100 points) during the semester both in the part of parasitic and infectious diseases (min. 51 points), evaluated as described in Section A Art. 20 – Evaluation of Study Results at the UVMP in Košice.

Conditions for completion of course:

The key requirement for the successful completion of the course is the completion of the entire specialised study programme. Students are obliged to attend practical exercises pursuant to Section A Art. 16 of the Study Guidelines of the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice of 24 August 2023. Successful results of continuous study revisions (students must obtains a minimum of 51%) – one test in the studied course during the semester with a value of 100 points (100%), evaluated as described in Section A Art. 20 – Evaluation of Study Results at the UVMP in Košice.

The examination consists of one oral exam in parasitic diseases and one oral exam in infectious diseases. The resulting mark combines the result of the credit test (20%) and both oral exams (80%).

Final assessment:

The exam consists of a practical exam and an oral exams, passing the practical exam is a condition for proceeding to the oral exams.