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Health Policy and Diseases with Legal Implications

Code: 102617 ECTS Credits: 5
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2502445 Veterinary Medicine OB 4

Contact

Name:
Alberto Allepuz Palau
Email:
alberto.allepuz@uab.cat

Teachers

Joaquin Castella Espuny
Mariano Domingo Alvarez
David Ferrer Bermejo
Enrique Maria Mateu de Antonio
Francesc Padros Bover
Marti Cortey Marques
Laila Darwich Soliva
Ana Maria Ortuņo Romero

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites. In any case, it is recommended to review the contents of the following subjects: Animal Health I, II and III and Epidemiology and Statistics


Objectives and Contextualisation

The subject of Health Policy and diseases of Legal Importance is attended during the second semester of the fourth year of the Veterinary Degree and is the continuation of the three subjects of Animal Health. The technical bases for the control of diseases and the different infectious and parasitic diseases that are included in national and international legislation are studied. The training objectives are that the student: 

- Knows the basic concepts of the Health Policy.

- Knows the strategies used in Health Policy to control and eradicate animal diseases.

- Appreciates the application of measures of the Sanitary Policy in specific cases.

- Knows the basic characteristics of diseases with legal significance, especially the clinical signs, diagnosis, control and legislation


Competences

  • Analyse, synthesise and resolve problems and make decisions.
  • Apply scientific method to professional practice, including medicine
  • Diagnose different individual and collective animal diseases, and know about prevention measures, with emphasis on zoonoses and notifiable disease.
  • Have basic knowledge of the profession, and in particular of the organisation and functions of professional practice.
  • Identify, control and eradicate animal diseases, with special emphasis on zoonoses and notifiable disease
  • Recognise ethical obligations in the exercise of responsibilities in terms of the profession and society.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse, synthesise and resolve problems and make decisions.
  2. Apply scientific method to professional practice, including medicine
  3. Define the basic concepts and methodology used in the study of animal health.
  4. Describe the basic concepts of healthcare politics.
  5. Distinguish the main parasitical diseases that affect domestic and useful animals.
  6. Distinguish the strategies used in healthcare politics to combat animal diseases.
  7. Evaluate the application of healthcare policy to concrete cases.
  8. Evaluate the importance of infectious and parasitical diseases in the field of animal health, public health and animal productions.
  9. Have basic knowledge of the profession, and in particular of the organisation and functions of professional practice.
  10. Identify the characteristic lesions of diseases in domestic and wild species.
  11. Properly apply anatomopathological nomenclature and use suitable terminology in the field of infectious and contagious diseases.
  12. Recognise personal limitations and know when to ask for professional advice and help.
  13. Recognise the pathogeny of diseases in domestic animals, and establish suitable associations between lesions, etiology and clinical signals.
  14. Use knowledge acquired about the prevention of parasitical zoonoses.

Content

After an introduction on the importance of animal health in the international context and the organisms that are involved, the different methods of fight against diseases in animal populations will be studied. Surveillance and contingency methods will also be studied. The more important aspects related with animal health legislation will be descrived.

In a second part, the diseases subject to control, eradication or notification are studied. Two groups of diseases are studied: exotic -but at risk of presentation- diseases and endemic diseases under control. For each one of them the etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, control, prevention and legislation are included.

Lessons:

Health Policy

- Concept, purpose and objectives of the health policy.
- Animal health in the international (the WOAH, the EU, the EFSA) and national contexts
- Methods of transmission of diseases between countries and between farms
- Methods to fight against diseases: Quarantine, biosecurity measures, culling of animals, cleaning and disinfection and vaccinations
- Epidemiological surveillance
- Risk analysis of imports
- Basic legislation on animal health
- Herd health legislation in cattle

 Diseases with Legal Implications:
- Foot-and-mouth disease
- Rabies
- Swine fever and other exotic pig diseases
- Blue tongue
- Tuberculosis
- Bovine and ovine brucellosis
- Other diseases of legal significance of ruminants.
- Exotic diseases of equidae.
- Exotic bird diseases
- Exotic parasitic diseases
- Notifiable diseases of bees
- Notifiable diseases of fish


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Exercice in the computer room 2 0.08 1, 11, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5, 10, 13, 9, 14, 7, 8
Seminars 4 0.16 11, 3, 4, 6, 5, 10, 13, 14, 7, 8
Theoretical lessons 32 1.28 1, 11, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5, 10, 13, 12, 9, 14, 7, 8
Type: Supervised      
Tutorial 4 0.16 1, 11, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5, 10, 13, 12, 14, 7, 8
Type: Autonomous      
Self-learning 20 0.8 1, 11, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5, 10, 13, 12, 14, 7, 8
Study 59 2.36 1, 11, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5, 10, 13, 12, 9, 14, 7, 8

Teaching methodology will involve lessons of theory that we will try to make as participative as possible.

We will also do a practical lesson in the computer room to calculate and discuss the sensitivity of a surveillance program.

At the same time, students will have to carry out a self-learning job searching information about the situation of a disease in some part of the world and propose a method to control or eradicate the disease in a given country. They will have to present it to their peers in an oral session

Teaching material will be available in the Moodle, which we use to exchange documents between students and teachers.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Exam of Health Policy 30% 1 0.04 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, 9, 14, 7
Exam of notifiable diseases 45% 1 0.04 1, 11, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5, 10, 13, 12, 9, 14, 7, 8
presentation of a work 25% 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, 9, 14, 7

The final grade is calculated on the basis of:

- Health policy exam (30% of the grade)

- Examination of diseases of legal importance (45% of the grade)

The exams will be test-type questions and a few short questions. To pass the subject you need to get a 5 in each of the exams

Work (oral presentation): Establish a control or eradication plan for a disease in a specific country in the world (25% of the mark)

In the last week, the exams can be recovered. Students who, having passed, want to increase their grade, must take into account that only the last exam will be assessed.

The single assessment consists of a test that includes a summary examination of the contents of the entire theory program with a weight of 30% for health policy and 45% for diseases of legal importance. On the same day, there will be an oral presentation of the disease control work with a weight of 25%. The grade obtained that day in these tests is 100% of the final grade of the subject.

To pass the subject you need to get a 5 from the part of health policy and another 5 from the part of diseases of legal importance.

The single assessment test will coincide with the same date fixed in the calendar for the last continuous assessment test and the same recovery system will be applied as for the continuous assessment.  Students who, having passed, want to increase their grade, must take into account that only the last exam will be assessed.

Students who have not taken the synthesis exams and have not given the oral presentation will be classified as non-evaluable. 


Bibliography

  • Center for Food security & públic Health. Animal disease information. http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/DiseaseInfo/?species[]=002&lang=en
  • Maclachlan N.J., Dubovi E.J. (2011). Fenner's Veterinary Virology (Fourth Edition) Elsevier. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780123751584OIE (2012).
  • OIE (2022). Código Sanitario para los Animales Terrestres. 31a edición. Accés en línia: https://www.woah.org/es/que-hacemos/normas/codigos-y-manuales/acceso-en-linea-al-codigo-terrestre/
  • Constable P, Hinchcliff KW, Done S, Gruenberg W. (2016). Veterinary Medicine: A textbook of the diseases of cattle, horses, sheep, pigs and goats, 11ed. Elsevier
  • Toma B., Dufour B., Sanaa M., Bénet J.J., Ellis P., Moutou F., Louza A. (1999). Applied veterinary epidemiology and the control of disease in populations. Ed. AEEMA (Maisons-Alfort, France). Also in French: Épidémiologie appliquée à la lutte collective contre les maladies animales transmissibles majeures. .AEEMA. Paris

Software

Excel. No specific software are used


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 3 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 2 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 3 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 4 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 5 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 6 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester afternoon
(TE) Theory 2 Catalan/Spanish second semester afternoon