VMPM 387 Veterinary Virology: Spring 2015
Professor in charge: K.B. Platt DVM, PhD, DACVM, Rm. 2154 Dept VMPM, Tel. 294-4940, e-mail
Availability: There are no specific office hours. Students may visit the office at their convenience or make a specific appointment. The instructor is usually available Monday through Friday 10 to 11:15 AM, and 1:30 to 4:30 PM. Students may also interact with the instructor by e-mail. There will be an optional weekly scheduled review and discussion session from 1 to 2 PM on Fridays in Room 2025 (BMS) for those students who are interested. Additional review and discussion sessions will be arraigned as requested.
Course goal: This course will introduce you to the characteristics and biology of animal viruses of veterinary and zoonotic importance. It is primarily a basic science course designed to prepare you for the more clinical courses in infectious diseases and medicine in the third year, and most importantly, to provide you with a solid foundation for life-long learning in veterinary medicine. At the conclusion of the course you will know the common pathogenic viruses of food and companion animals, understand how viruses cause disease, and have a basic understanding of the methods used in diagnosis, control and prevention of these diseases
Specific learning objectives: The student will;
1. be able to make a presumptive diagnosis of virus diseases of veterinary and public health importance based on the clinical presentation of an animal;
2. know the characteristics of the family and genus of disease-causing viruses;
3. know the physical and biological properties of viruses that influence their ecology, diagnosis, and pathogenesis;
4. know how viruses are propagated and assayed for use in the laboratory, vaccine production, and pathogenesis studies;
5. know how virus infections are diagnosed;
6. understand the relationship between virus replication and pathogenesis and development of antiviral drugs;
7. know how viruses can cause cancer;
8. know how the host defends against virus infection, and how viruses evade host defenses;
9. understand how viruses change in nature;
10. know the different types of virus vaccines that are currently or will be available in the future, how they are produced, and their advantages and disadvantages;
11. know the principles of antiviral therapy, examples of antiviral agents and their mechanism of action;
12. understand how viruses can be used to treat cancer and genetic disorders.
Course structure: Part 1 (Basic principles of animal virology) of this course will consist of ~21 (50%) lecture periods focused on the basic principles of animal virology to include, in accordance with the recommendations of the AVMA council on education, (Requirements of an Accredited College of Veterinary Medicine; Section 7, subsection 7.9, April 2012), the molecular and cellular basis of viral induced pathology, epidemiology, diagnostics, vaccine development, and antiviral therapy. We will also discuss the use of viruses as vectors for gene therapy and their use in cancer therapy.
Part 2 (Specific viruses of veterinary and public health importance) will consist of ~21 (50%) lecture periods that provide an overview of domestic and exotic viruses of veterinary and public health importance. Viruses of animals will be presented by species and by systems within species. This format represents the field experience. For example if one is presented with an animal with respiratory symptoms one should be familiar with the viruses that could be responsible.
In depth discussion of the diagnosis, treatment and control of specific virus diseases is the subject of courses in the 3rd year. Specific lecture topics (LT) are listed in Table 1.
During Part 1 (Basic principles of virology) of the course, specific viruses will be used to show relevance between basic and applied aspects of virology. Viruses used for this purpose will be listed in the “Know your virus objective” PPT slide at the beginning of each LT. You will be responsible to know the following:
- The animal species susceptible to the virus and if the virus is zoonotic
- The family to which it belongs and the characteristics of the family i.e. DNA vs RNA, naked or enveloped, linear or segmented genome etc.
- The general type of disease it causes e.g. respiratory, enteric, etc.
In addition you are also responsible for any characteristics or properties of a virus that is discussed in class, assigned readings, and/or presented in the PPT’s, that are related to its ecology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and control.
To facilitate acquiring this knowledge the student is directed to the required textbook “Fenner’s Veterinary Virology” 4th ed. by MacLachlan and Dubovi. The text has many useful tables and figures, e.g. Table 1.3. Virus Properties that Distinguish and Define Virus Families, Figure 1.2, Diagrammatic representations of virus morphology by family, Table 1.4, Universal Taxonomy System for Taxa Containing Veterinary and Zoonotic Pathogens, Table 6.1, Common Modes of Transmission of Viruses of Animals, Table 6.2, Major Arthropod-Borne Viral Zoonoses, Table 6.3, Major Non-Arthropod-Borne Viral Zoonoses, Table 6.4, Modes of Survival of Viruses in Nature, Table 6.5, Some Important New, Emerging and Re-Emerging Animal Viruses, Table 6.6,Some Important New, Emerging, and Re-Emerging Zoonotic Viruses. The Table of Contents pp vii to xvii also provides a nice summary of families, sub-family groups and viruses within families. Summaries of virus families that represent the viruses listed in the “Know your virus objective” also are provided at the end of the LT ppt presentation.
Viruses listed in all LTs of Part 1 (1 through 11) of the course are summarized in Table 2 together with page references in the text and in some cases a www address. Students are encouraged to maintain and continuously update a reference system to include these and all other viruses presented in Part II of the course. Table 3 is an example of a table that can be used for this purpose. An Excel spreadsheet is recommended for this purpose as it can be updated.
Required Textbook: “Fenner’s Veterinary Virology”, Eds. MacLachlan and Dubovi 4th ed. (2011). This book is “practitioner friendly”. It is available in the student bookstore. Hard cover, and digital editions are available. Copies are on reserve in the Veterinary Library.
Reference text: “Principles of Virology – Molecular Biology, Pathogenesis and Control of Animal Viruses” vol 1and 2, Eds. Flint, Enquist, Racaniello and Skalka, 3rd ed. (2009), ASM Press is recommended for graduate students and those with a strong interest in virology. Greene, Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 4th ed. (2012) Elsevier is an outstanding reference text that all veterinarians should have in their library. Copies of these books are on reserve in the Veterinary Library and can be purchased at the book store. The diagrams and figures in these books are excellent.
Use of materials presented in class: Students are reminded that PPT presentations, Echo captures, or photographs, recordings and videos of the class are for their use only. None of this material can be shared over the internet as much of it is copyrighted.
Examinations: There will be 3 hourly examinations and a final examination. Exams are scheduled Wednesday 4 Feb, Wednesday 4 March, and Wednesday 8 April. Each hourly exam, will count 85 pts each. The final exam is cumulative and will count 165 pts.
Examinations will be held in the classroom, the microbiology laboratory and / or first floor lecture hall. Students will sit in alternate seats. Students are not permitted to have on their person or bring unauthorized written materials or electronic devices of any type into the examination room during written hourly and final examinations without permission of the instructor. (See next paragraph pertaining specifically to quizzes). Laptop computers are allowed only in examinations that are given electronically using the appropriate assigned student electronic device. If a student is observed to have an unauthorized electronic device during an examination or any unauthorized materials, the student will be quietly asked or given a written statement to stop their examination and be escorted from the room. At that point, the examination will be retained by the instructor or proctor. The event will trigger a thorough investigation of a possible academic dishonesty violation.
Because quizzes will be unannounced the above restrictions pertaining to hourly and final exams will not apply. However all written/printed materials and electronic devices except the students laptop computer must be stowed and placed on the floor behind the students chair during quizzes.
The exam format will consist of entirely of or be a combination of multiple choices, true/false, multiple answer, matching and short answer as formatted by “Blackboard”. Grades will be posted in “Blackboard”. All examinations including the final exam are cumulative with respect to concepts and viruses. There will also be approximately 7 to 10 unannounced computer based quizzes of varying point value (100 total pts). These will be given during the class period or on occasion as open-book, non-collaborative take home quizzes. Questions for in-class quizzes will be derived from material presented during the same or previous class periods and from any assigned reading material. Point value of each quiz will range from 5 to 20pts. Extra credit (3 pts ea) will be available for Ramsey lecture(s). Details will be announced in class. (Note: extra credit pts are added to the total points earned for the course. The denominator i.e. 520 remains constant.)
Course grading: Grades will be based on 520 pts (exams + quizzes). A ≥ 468; B ≥ 416; C ≥ 364; D ≥ 338 and F ≤ 337. A plus/minus system will be used within these ranges.
Policy on missed examinations: Students that are not able to take an examination at the regularly scheduled time must inform the instructor or the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in advance so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Students that miss an hourly examination for an approved absence e.g. medical or family emergency or CVM approved activities , will have two options: a) take a make-up exam within 5 days after returning to class, or b) take an expanded final examination that will be worth 165 pts plus the value of any exam(s) missed. Make-up hourly exams will not necessarily be the same as the regularly scheduled examinations nor have the same format. Oral questions may also be used. Students that miss quizzes on account of extended absences due to approved medical and family emergencies will have the opportunity to make them up within 5 days of returning to class. The make-up quizzes may be written or oral and cumulative. Quizzes missed for reasons other than approved medical and family emergencies or CVM approved activities cannot be made up. No examination or quiz will be given to individuals prior to the regularly scheduled exam time in class.
Study guide: The following suggestions should facilitate your learning experience.
1. Review the PPT presentation for each lecture topic, including learning objectives, before it is presented in class
2. Review the viruses in the “Know your virus objective” prior to lecture
3. Review the lecture material following presentation the same day and identify areas that need clarification. Resolve any questions with your classmates or contact the instructor. It is important to resolve questions in a timely manner i.e. don’t delay until the week of the exam!
4. Review the questions that are posted on BB for each LT prior to lecture, and answer them ASAP after each lecture. Do not procrastinate. At least 75% of exam questions will be derived from these questions
5. Keep up to date with your virus list and review it frequently. All information regarding viruses on this list is treated as cumulative on quizzes and exams.
Suggestion: to facilitate learning your viruses consider doing so by animal spp and the type of disease. For example visualize a dog with the following symptoms; high fever, nasal and ocular discharge, respiratory and GI involvement. Now generate a list of likely causes e.g. CDV, CAV1.
Review sessions: See first paragraph of this syllabus
Announcements and special assignments: A folder labeled “Announcements” will be available in “Blackboard”. Supplemental information on current topics will be made available periodically in this folder. Students are expected to read this information and be prepared to discuss in class. Some test questions will be derived from this material.
Classroom decorum: Past experience has shown that the overwhelming majority of veterinary students conduct themselves in a professional manner and are highly respectful of their classmates during lecture periods. Please remember that the classroom is large and that it is not always possible for an instructor to hear or see inappropriate behavior. Students that interfere with the learning environment in class are reminded that it is a violation of the CVM honor code. The ISU Policy on student classroom disruption applies http://www.dso.iastate.edu/sa/issuesconcerns/disruption
Computer Etiquette: During lecture please refrain from email, Facebook, surfing the web, etc. If you are having a problem with distracting behavior by others in class please feel free to contact the instructor in charge.
Disability Accommodation:Individuals with physical or mental impairments who are otherwise qualified to pursue their studies may request reasonable accommodations to enable them to continue their studies. For more information, see: http://www.eoc.iastate.edu/discrimination/disability.
Harassment and Discrimination: Iowa State University strives to maintain our campus as a place of work and study for faculty, staff, and students that is free of all forms of prohibited discrimination and harassment. For more information, or if you believe you are a victim of discrimination or harassment, please visit the following URL for additional guidance: http://policy.iastate.edu/policy/discrimination/ .
Religious, Civic, and Military Accommodations: There may be times when an academic requirement conflicts with religious observances and practices, or required civic or military duty. If that happens, students may request reasonable accommodation of their religious practices http://www.eoc.iastate.edu/discrimination/religious
Civic http://www.dso.iastate.edu/sa/juryduty
Military http://www.veterans.iastate.edu/active-duty#leave
Unforeseen Circumstances and Adaptation of the Syllabus
Information in the syllabus is subject to change. Changes will be announced in class and posted on the course site on Blackboard Learn or the appropriate Learning Management System.
Table 1. Lecture topics (LT)