Management of Tropical Disease

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

170 hours per 12.5 credit point subject

To enrol in this subject, you must be admitted in the Graduate Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene or the Specialist Certificate in Travel Medicine. This subject is not available for students admitted in any other courses.

For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this course are articulated in the Course Overview, Objectives and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this course are encouraged to discuss this matter with the Student Equity and Disability Support Team: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Health practitioners working in regions of high prevalence of tropical disease, and those caring for new arrivals from endemic areas or for travellers, require deep working knowledge of infectious and other disease to which exposure is common in the tropics. Furthermore, travel itself presents specific hazards and considerations for health.

This 25-point subject is a core subject of the Postgraduate Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H). A range of presentations and interactive activities will cover:

• the epidemiology of tropical disease,
• prevention, diagnosis and management of tropical disease,
• vector-borne diseases
• food and water borne disease, parasitic disease
• dysentery and protozoal disease
• (for example, malaria, dengue, leishmaniasis, filiariasis, schistosomiasis, tetanus, tuberculosis, acute respiratory disease and sexually transmitted infections/HIV)
• parasitology, entomology and helminthology,
• pretravel consultation and post-travel triage, determination of fitness to travel,
• vaccination, prophylactic medication and other strategies of disease prevention (travellers’ information and databases),
• accidents and emergency repatriation, and
• high altitude sickness, pregnancy (and other pre-existing health conditions) and travel.

This subject will be taught on campus in block mode (10 days during a 2-week period)..

At the completion of this subject, students should be able to:

• express intimate understanding of the pathology of infectious disease important to tropical and travellers’ health.

• expertly practice prevention, diagnosis and management of key tropical diseases.
• effectively consult with travellers, and new arrivals from areas of high tropical disease prevalence, to design and implement tailored prevention/management strategies.
• access current information and databases relevant to tropical and travellers’ health.
• give consideration to specific non-infectious issues of health pertinent to travel and tropical regions.

1. 2 x MCQs and/or short answer questions/assessment activities – 2.5-hour examination - 50%
2. Written assignment(s) 5,000 words - 50%

Students will be issued key readings for this subject.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Upon completion of this subject, students should have developed skills in:

• Critical thinking and analysis
• Working with others and in teams
• Initiative, autonomy and organisation
• Problem-solving
• Oral communication
• Finding, evaluating and using relevant information
• Written communication
• Decision-making
• Persuasion and argumentation
• Using computers and relevant software