UCSD Immune Amnesia Discussion

Discussion question – Initial Response:

Select and respond to ONE of the following discussion prompts:

A) Choose one of the neglected tropical diseases described in the paper “Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases.” First, briefly describe the disease, including the infectious agent, the disease it causes, how it spreads, and risk factors for becoming infected. Then describe what you think the global health community should do to better control the disease. How is this different from what is already being done?

B) The eradication of smallpox is one of the greatest achievements of humankind… and it occurred before most of you were born. Why do you think we haven’t replicated this with the eradication of another human disease? If you were to plan a global campaign to eradicate a second disease, which disease would you choose, and why? What are the most important barriers you would have to overcome?

C) Distrust of health authorities has led to a recent surge in vaccine-preventable diseases –especially Measles. This is especially important because Measles is extremely infectious and Measles infection can lead to “immune amnesia.” Briefly describe immune amnesia, and the broader public health impact it can cause. What approaches should health authorities use to help bring Measles back under control?

Follow-up participation

Respond to two of your classmates’ posts (see detailed instructions below).

Don’t forget to use (and cite) evidence to support your arguments in both the initial response and your follow-on participation. You may use whatever citation style you prefer.

Detailed instructions (from the syllabus)

Initial response (50% of discussion assignment grade): A post of approximately 200-350 words that directly addresses one of the week’s discussion topics and cites appropriate evidence to support your ideas (details below). Due: 11:59 PM Thursday.

Follow-on participation (50% of discussion assignment grade): Write two or more substantive posts in response to other students’ initial responses and cite appropriate evidence to support your ideas (details below). Substantive posts do more than say, “I agree,” or “I disagree.” They add new evidence and new insight to the discussion. Follow-on posts should generally be 100-250 words long, but shorter or longer responses are acceptable as long as they make a significant contribution to the week’s discussion. Due: 11:59 Sunday.

Your initial response and follow-on discussion posts should cite evidence from sources such as journal articles, reports by governmental and non-governmental organizations, news articles, and / or class lectures. Personal correspondence with global health practitioners or personal experience may also be used, provided that other forms of evidence are also presented. You may choose whatever citation style you are most comfortable with.