Introduction

Viruses are so small that they can only be viewed with an electron microscope and must be inside a cell to reproduce.   They were unknown a little over a hundred years ago but yet they have impacted human and animal life by causing many life threatening diseases. Are viruses really alive?

Do they have cells? What is their structure? How can we prevent the spread of viral infections? What is the structure of a virus?

Your role is to investigate the habits of your assigned virus particle and recommend how to protect the human population from attack.

The Task

Your group’s job will be to use internet resources to investigate the following aspects of your assigned virus particle:

1.   Name of the virus

2.   Anatomy and physiology of the virus

3.   History of the virus

4.   Disease or diseases caused and the symptoms

5.   Treatment of the disease

6.   Prevention of the disease

7.   Threat of pandemic spread of this virus

8.   Your recommendations for control of this virus

Your final product will include an information page, a PowerPoint presentation, and an advertising leaflet.

The Process

First you’ll be assigned to a team of 4 students and given a list of viruses from which to choose.   Each group will be investigating a different virus.

Within your group of 4 students you will select people to play the following roles:  

1. Biologist

2. Historian

3. Health Professional  

4 Government Official

·         The information page should be 1 page (front & back) to be given to each student on your presentation day.

·         The PowerPoint presentation should consist of a minimum 8 slides

·         The advertising leaflet should be on 8 ½ x 11 paper and encourage a particular behavior i.e. get a vaccination, or cover your mouth when coughing etc.

Students need to work cooperatively to accomplish all of the tasks from the point of view expressed by their role.   All students should be involved in all aspects of the project including the oral presentation.

Resources

Biology Texts (various books located in the classroom)

Books on cart in the media center.

Electronic databases

Electronic databases are available in the Favorites menu in Internet Explorer on the Media Center computers, or in the Electronic Databases section of the NHHS Media Center home page. To use the databases from home, you will need the list of passwords, which is available in the Media Center.

Use and combine your search terms to find one article from the databases listed below.

• EBSCOhost Web-MasterFILE Premier
   

• Facts on File-Health Reference Center               
   

• NewsBank
   

• Opposing Viewpoints (found in InfoTrac)
   

• SIRS
   

• Student Edition (found in InfoTrac)

Internet sites: These are some general sites to get you started.   There are many other sites for your specific viruses.

Center for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/

Animal Health and Welfare Europe http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/animal/diseases/controlmeasures/avian/index_en.htm

Karolinska Institutet Sweden  http://www.mic.ki.se/Diseases/C02.html

Department of Health and Human Services New Hampshire http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/DHHS/CDCS/West+Nile+Virus/default.htm

Victorian Government Health Information Australia http://www.health.vic.gov.au/ideas/bluebook/

United States Department of Health and Human Services  http://www.hhs.gov/diseases/index.shtml

Division of Microbiology and Infectious Disease http://www.niaid.nih.gov/dmid/eid/

Infectious Disease Society of America  http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/idsa/influenza/avianflu/biofacts/avflu_human.html

World Health Organization http://www.who.int/en/

These sites will be helpful to the biologist in your group and also useful in the modeling assignment.

Washington University St. Louis http://medicine.wustl.edu/%7Evirology/

Scripps University  http://viperdb.scripps.edu/sitemap.php

Bird Flu or Avian Influenza http://www.rkm.com.au/VIRUS/Influenza/bird-flu-reassort.html

UC Davis viral images http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/viruses/download.html

Wrong Diagnosis.com  http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/v/viral/subtypes.htm

How Stuff Works  http://howstuffworks.com

Evaluation

Student projects will be evaluated according to a rubric with the parts of the project having the following weights:

Paper                                                      50%

PowerPoint Presentation                   30%

Leaflet                                                    20%

Conclusion

As our world continues to shrink due to the prevalence of global travel, the possibility of world wide pandemics become more and more of a possibility.   We will need all of the best minds in the world focusing on these issues for our global health.