Pre-requisite: 62215
This unit emphasises the mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis and the approaches taken for prevention of significant microbial diseases of animals and humans. The diseases covered include those caused by gram- positive, gram-negative and acid-fast micro-organisms and an introduction to significant fungal and protozoal diseases. The course also extends introduction to virology offered in unit 62215 with a more comprehensive study of DNA and RNA viruses associated with human diseases. Also considered are the concepts of antigenic specificity, induction of humoral and cellular immune response, immunoglobulin structure, function and genetic basis of antibody diversity, the role of the immune system in health and disease including cell-mediated immunity, hypersensitivity reactions, autoimmunity, and cancer immunology.