Veterinary Epidemiology

Course Director: Dr. Rohini Roopnarine, DVM, M. Phil, EdD (Higher Ed.), MRCVS Professor,

Email Address: rroopnarine@sgu.edu Office Location: Online and SD1 dormitory.

Office Hours: On Zoom (optional): To be arranged with the Class Coordinators.

Online location + Sis Hall (Some in-person classes. Dates to be announced)- Sakai tools being used: Announcements, Resources, Syllabus, Lessons, Forums, Tests and Quizzes, Panopto, Zoom, email.

Veterinary Epidemiology class notes and Powerpoints, functional computer headphones, microphone and camera. Students must activate the Panopto tool within Sakai to access the recordings, and also ensure they activate the zoom tool within Sakai.

Veterinary Epidemiology class notes and Powerpoints, functional computer headphones, microphone and camera.

• Web resources: http://www.cdc.gov, http://www.oie.int, http://www.usda.gov, https://www.avma.org, http://www.who.int/enRecommended texts: Epidemiology, 6 th Edition. Leon Gordis.

1. Students who need accommodations should contact Student Accessibility and Accommodations Services (SAAS), located in the Welcome Center, inside the International Students Office.
2. Information can be found at mycampus.sgu.edu/group/saas

Good internet capabilities and speed, headphones, Zoom.

This course is designed to provide students with the epidemiological principles that can be applied to clinical veterinary medicine, and is a core course introducing important concepts for the Veterinary Public Health course that it precedes. Students will gain knowledge on the use of epidemiological principles in evaluating clinical studies and the importance of evidence-based medicine in evaluating the efficacy of therapeutic and preventive measures. The course is also concerned in arming students with the tools that apply to outbreak investigation and in understanding the important role of the veterinary surgeon in responding to emerging disease threats such as COVID-19. Epidemiology is a cornerstone of public health and the practice of preventive medicine in populations, and hence requires the student to have a solid foundation in the basic science courses.

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to…

1. Apply the principles of evidence-based veterinary medicine to the evaluation of clinical trials and control programs.
2. Apply the principles involved in evaluating screening tests for early disease detection and prevention.
3. Determine the role of the veterinarian in responding to outbreaks, and pandemics such as COVID-19.
4. Apply the epidemiological principles that underlie the concepts of herd immunity and the transmission of infectious diseases in responding to pandemics of animal origin.
5. Apply key epidemiological concepts that reflect an understanding of the mechanisms involved in disease transmission and reporting.

Introduction to epidemiological concepts

At the completion of this lecture the student will be able to:

• Define the objectives of epidemiology
• Apply the core concepts introduced such as epidemic, endemic and pandemic
• Apply the concept and importance of evidence-based medicine to clinical practice

Disease Reporting

At the completion of this lecture the student will be able to:

• Understand the application of the terms disease prevalence, incidence and the Reproductive number(R0) and disease modelling using the example of COVID-19
• Determine the interactions between the agent-host-environment in the occurrence of disease.
• Differentiate between the types of epidemic curves that are used to characterize outbreaks.
• Understand the importance of Flattening the curve.

Causal Relationships

At the completion of this lecture the student will be able to:

• Apply the key causal criteria applied to epidemiological studies to determine the strength of the study design
• Determine the causal criteria used to evaluate the existence of a causal relationship between independent variables (exposures) and dependent variables (disease or outcome)

Bias, Sample Selection, Confounding

At the completion of this lecture the student will be able to:

• Differentiate between types of bias
• Evaluate the types of bias present in study designs Appraise different sampling methods for achieving desired study results
• Evaluate the presence of potential confounding in study designs

Descriptive and Analytical Epidemiological Study designs

At the completion of this lecture the student will be able to:

• Differentiate between different types of study designs
• Determine which study designs are most appropriate to address specific research questions using examples from published work

Types of Qualitative studies and other types of Research Designs

At the completion of this lecture the student will be able to:

• Understand the value of Qualitative and Action Research approaches in Research design
• Understand there are multiple research approaches that expand beyond quantitative methodologies
• Determine the research approach that may be more suited for addressing a particular research question

Screening Tests

At the completion of this lecture the student will be able to:

• Define and differentiate the concepts of sensitivity and specificity
• Evaluate a test in terms of its sensitivity, specificity and predictive values
• Measure the sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of a test

Infectious Disease Epidemiology

At the completion of this lecture the student will be able to:

• Differentiate between different host types and their role in disease transmission
• Evaluate and calculate common measures of health including the case-fatality rate using the example of COVID-19

Herd Immunity

At the completion of this lecture the student will be able to:

• Apply the concept of herd immunity to disease prevention and control
• Discuss the importance of the Reproduction number (R0) to disease spread
• Discuss the relevance of the R0 to flattening the curve in the context of COVID-19

Outbreak Investigation

At the completion of this lecture the student will be able to:

Evaluate the different tasks involved in responding to an outbreak using the example of a Transboundary Animal Disease (TAD).

This course is a 1 credit course that lasts 4 weeks: Jan 17, 2022- Feb 14, 2022. The course will be conducted mainly online this term with 2 assigned “in-person” lectures @11:30 am & scheduled as shown below. The lectures will be recorded asynchronously and stored within Panopto. They are scheduled to occur between 4:30-5:30 pm and thus students are expected to view all of the lectures.

There will be 2 assessments, a quiz and a final examination. The quiz will be conducted on Sakai as a timed open-book assessment and the final examination will be conducted on Examsoft.

The grading scale below will be used to calculate the final course grade Grade Scale

Examsoft:

A grade reduction of 5% will be applied to that exam if students do not observe parameters listed in the Assessment Policy for Students.

Types of Assessments:

There are 2 assessments for this course. Students must complete all assessments for this course, in order to obtain a final grade. Students are expected to make use of the recommended weblinks uploaded on the SAKAI network if needed. The final examination will be conducted on Examsoft.

Importantly, students should apply good time management skills, particularly crucial in the online environment, to ensure they meet the course requirements.

Students are expected to adhere to the Professionalism Policy (see XVII), and at all times demonstrate respect not only towards SGU faculty and staff, but also towards their fellow students and the general public. Students are also expected to complete the mandatory assessments in a timely fashion.

General Expectations

• Remain professional, respectful and courteous at all times

Contacting the Faculty

• Please feel free to email the faculty at any time.
• The faculty will generally respond to email within 24 hours. If you do not hear from us within 24-48 hrs hours, feel free to follow up.

The policy relating to SGU's Student Policies, Procedures and Non-Academic Standards for 2019/2020 https://www.sgu.edu/studentmanual/school-of-veterinary-medicine/.. Students are expected to be polite in responding to peers and faculty via email or through the other online communication tools. It is essential that if a student is unable to complete a mandatory assessment due to illness or other emergency, that they inform the course director in a timely fashion. Please refer to XVII below.

The policy relating to class attendance is detailed in the SGU student manual https://www.sgu.edu/studentmanual/school-of-veterinary-medicine/. Students are expected to be available during the standard 8:30—5:30pm AST school day, to virtually attend, engage with online content, and participate in all classes and clinical rotations for which they have registered. Employment is not an excusable absence. Although attendance, engagement, and participation may not be recorded at every academic activity, attendance, engagement, and participation is graded for mandatory sessions. Students’ lack of attendance, engagement, and participation may adversely affect their academic status as specified in the grading policy.

The course will be conducted mainly online this term, apart from 2 “in-person” lectures, as decided upon by the Scheduling Committee. The lectures will be recorded asynchronously and stored within Panopto. They are scheduled to occur between 4:30- 5:30 pm and thus students are expected to view all of the lectures.

If failure to attend, engage, or participate in individual classes, examinations, and online activities, or from the University itself is anticipated, or occurs spontaneously due to illness or other extenuating circumstances, proper notification procedures must be followed.

It is mandatory that students check the following communications from the Course Instructor:

Announcements

The lesson plan for the week will be announced to the class. (Instructor – class). There will be reminders about deadlines and mandatory requirements to engage with the course.

Email

1. Normal email communications. Replies to student inquiries. (Instructor-to-individual)
2. Email to the class representative to determine the need for a zoom session depending on questions students may have on the weekly lessons.

ZOOM sessions - ZOOM will be used for Office Hours – These will be optional. Attendance at office hours that will be provided via zoom are NOT mandatory. However, for students participating, they will be required to submit any questions they may have at least 48 hrs PRIOR to the zoom session.

Lecture sessions will be recorded asynchronously using Panopto. Students are expected to review all lecture content provided as lecture recordings, powerpoints, assigned readings and lecture notes.

 Students who fail to attend an examination (Sakai quiz/test or Examsoft) or submit an assignment by the deadline without a valid reason (see student manual: SGUSVM POLICY ON AN EXCUSED ABSENCE (EA) FOR STUDENTS) will receive a score of “0” points for the examination.Students who have technical issues during the examination MUST inform the Course Director; (rroopnarine@sgu.edu) and IT (tellexaminationservices@sgu.edu OR support@sgu.edu OR call 1-631-665-8500 ext. 4444 (US, NU, International) OR 1-473-439- 2000 ext. 4444 (Grenada), AND Dean of Students (DOS@sgu.edu) during the open period for the examination. Failure to do so immediately will result in the student receiving the highest score recorded at the time, but NOT being eligible to take a completion examination. Scheduling of examinations (regular, re-sit, completion, comprehensive, or exemption) is at the discretion of the University. Completion exams will be scheduled within 7 days of the original exam date. Re-sit examination will be scheduled in the first week of the following term.

All students are responsible for knowing and complying with the University’s Code of Conduct and the guidelines. Students must read and then sign the Honor Code statement at the start of examinations to indicate that they will comply with the University Code of Conduct.

Prior to Exam Day

1. Each student is required to have a laptop for the purpose of taking computer-based examinations (e-Exams) at SGU. Students must ensure that their laptops meet the current minimum system requirements prior to exam day:
2. Examinees must use their MY SGU Member Center username and password to access the Custom Home Page (www.examsoft.com/sgu) created by ExamSoft for the University.
3. Examinees are responsible for downloading and registering the latest version of Examplify on their laptop prior to exam day. Once Examplify has been successfully downloaded, examinees are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the software by downloading and taking practice exams.
4. Examinees are responsible for setting their laptop up for ExamMonitor prior to the exam (see links below).
5. Examinees will be notified via MyCourses, of all exam related information. Email notifications will also be sent from ExamSoft Support to examinees, notifying them of examinations available for downloading.
6. Examinees experiencing difficulties with their laptop are encouraged to visit the IT department for assistance prior to exam day. Examinees needing a laptop must visit the Office of Institutional Advancement (OIA) to request an exam loaner.
7. Examinees should visit the following information to familiarize themselves with the online proctored exam format and set up their baseline photo.
   1. A Examsoft/ExamID quick guide for students (Please note that the current Examplify version is 2.3.8)
   2. The Examsoft student perspective video 30mins
   3. The Examsoft/ExamID FAQ
   4. Examsoft information page
   5. The general Reminders/Guidelines

The materials (such as slides, handouts and audio/video recordings) provided to students who are taking courses at St. George’s University (SGU) are the intellectual property of the Faculty and/or Administration of SGU. Students are free to use these materials solely for the purpose of group or individual study. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited.