Medical Entomology [BIOL 602-18]
Catalog Description. Prerequisite: BIOL 215, upper division standing, or consent of instructor. Investigation of arthropod-vectored diseases from an ecological perspective, with an emphasis on human health. Biology of vectors, pathogens and disease symptoms. Relationships among disease cycles and non-human reservoirs and the ecological, social, political factors involved in epidemiology of diseases. Impact of diseases on human history. 3 hours lecture; 1 hour video/ discussion forum. 3 credit hours.
No previous background in entomology is necessary.
Ecology & Microbiology are recommended, but not necessary.
The class will meet for one hour, three times a week for lecture and one hour once a week for videos, discussions, and literature searches. To reduce the possibility of schedule conflicts, meeting times will be determined during the first week of classes.
REQUIRED TEXT: Medical Entomology. An
Ecological Perspective.
G.A.H. McClelland. 1992.
A paperback edition is available through an entomological supply company for $33.95. Students enrolled in the class are encouraged to pool their order and purchase this text directly from the supply house during the first week of classes.
"The book is designed to be a resource for both an upper-level undergraduate course and a graduate course in medical entomology. Although the subject can be taught as simply the biology of insects (and other arthropods) which are of medical importance, this would overlook the fascinating weave of the ecological fabric which links entomology with parasitology, immunology, pathology and illustrates the evolution of dynamic systems. …….The book is not a repository of facts to be learned, it is rather a guide for the student to travel the labyrinths of inter-relationships, and to open up new vistas of thinking." Andy McClelland.
The textbook was developed from the Medical Entomology course taught at the University of California at Davis by Dr. G. A.H. McClelland for over twenty years, which I was fortunate to take during graduate school. It is unique in that its approach to the subject emphasizes the ecological basis of diseases and the interactions among diseases, culture, politics and history. Because of this approach, it is indeed a "guide for the student to travel the labyrinths of inter-relationships, and to open up new vistas of thinking."
OPTIONAL TEXT: Medical Entomology. A Textbook on Public Health and Veterinary Problems Caused by Arthropods. Eldridge, B. F., & J. D. Edman [eds.]. Klewer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. 2000.
A paperback edition is available from the PSU Bookstore for around $80.00.
The optional textbook was edited by other faculty from U.C. Davis. It includes veterinary diseases and is a valuable reference.
Tentative Topic Outline
Classification, Anatomy and Biology of Arthropod Vectors
General Characteristics of Arthropods
Mites & Ticks
Insects
Lice Bugs & Fleas
Flies
Mosquitoes
Parasitism, Disease, and Pathogens
Parasitism and Disease
Arthropods as Direct Agents of Disease
Disease Epidemiology
Viruses and Arboviruses
Arthropod Vectored Diseases
Mosquito-borne Arboviruses
Arboviruses Vectored by Other Arthropods
Arthropod-borne Ricketteiae
Arthropod-borne Bacteria
Tularemia and Plague
Protozoan Diseases
Leishmaniasis
Trypanosomiasis
Malaria
Helminthic Diseases
General,
Loaiasis, Onchocerciasis
Filariasis
Control of Arthropod-Borne Disease
Social, Cultural and Political Factors in Arthropod-Borne Disease