2019/2020

2021/2022

DM270

MED/07 (MICROBIOLOGY AND CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY)

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL MEDICINE AND THERAPEUTICS

MEDICINE AND SURGERY

PERCORSO COMUNE

3°

2nd semester (28/02/2022 - 29/05/2022)

4

32 lesson hours

Italian

WRITTEN TEST

MIGLIAVACCA ROBERTA - 3 ECTS
PIAZZA AURORA - 1 ECTS

The course aims to provide the student with the necessary tools to understand the correlations between the different pathological pictures and the possible etiological agents.
To better follow the course the student must have attended lectures and gained knowledge in basic subjects, in biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, immunology and pathology.

The course aims to provide the student with the knowledge and methodological tools necessary for:
- correlate the composition, structure and physiology of microorganisms with the onset and evolution of infectious diseases;
- understand the role of different microorganisms in the etiopathogenesis of infectious diseases;
- apply the knowledge of the biology of microorganisms to the choice of antimicrobial drugs for the treatment of infections and prevention;
- understand the basics of the methodological approach in the diagnostic assessment of infection diseases;
- understand the epidemiology and transmission routes of infectious agents.
At the end of the course, the student must know:
i) structure and replication cycle of bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi;
ii) laboratory procedures for direct and indirect diagnostics of infectious diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites;
iii) principles of microbial genetics and genomic effects on the spread of drug resistance and on the pathogenicity of microorganisms;
iv) host defense mechanisms against infectious agents and host damage mechanisms of the main human pathogens;
v) the mechanism of action of the main antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antiparasitic drugs; molecular mechanisms responsible for the onset and spread of resistance.

Prokaryotes
Principles of bacterial taxonomy. Structure and function of the bacterial cell components. Bacterial spores: sporogenesis and germination. Physiology and metabolism of bacteria (outline). Principles of bacterial genetics and gene exchange. Human microbiota in normal and pathological conditions. Pathogenesis of bacterial infection. Cultivation of bacteria. General principles of laboratory diagnostics of infectious diseases. Structure, mechanism of action and activity of antibacterial drugs. Molecular basis of drug resistance. Methods for determining sensitivity to antibiotics.
Systematics: Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Listeria, Mycobacterium, Neisseria, Enterobacterales, Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter spp.. Vibrio, Campylobacter, Helicobacter, Haemophilus, Bacillus and Clostridioides, Treponema and Borrelia spp..
Eukaryotes
Taxonomy, structure and replication of mycetes and protozoa of medical interest. Mechanisms of their pathogenic action. Classification of mycoses and protozoal infections and their laboratory diagnosis. Drugs and their mechanism of action. Molecular basis of drug resistance
Systematics: Fungi. Superficial and cutaneous mycoses: Tinea, Pietra, Dermatophytosis. Subcutaneous mycoses: Sporotrichosis, Chromoblastomycosis, Feoifomycosis. Systemic mycoses from dimorphic fungi: Blastomyces, Paracoccidioides, Histoplasma, Coccidioides. Opportunistic mycoses: Candida albicans and Candida spp., Trichosporon, Malassezia, Aspergillus spp., Criptococcus neoformans and Pneumocystis jirovecii.
Protozoa. Intestinal and urogenital protozoa: Amoebas, Flagellates (Trichomonas, Giardia), Ciliates (Balantidium coli), Coccidia (Cryptosporidium, Isospora belli), Microsporidia.
Blood and tissue protozoa: Plasmodium spp., Hemoflagellates (Trypanosomes, Leishmanie), Babesia, Toxoplasma gondii.

The Course is divided into 3 integrated modules, General Microbiology (5 CFU), Virology (2 CFU) and Clinical Microbiology (2 CFU). The General Microbiology Module includes formal lectures (face-to-face teaching) and interactive teaching activities in the laboratory (ADI 1 CFU), with mandatory attendance, aimed at the acquisition of microbiological diagnostic skills contextualized in case reports.
The ADI of Microbiology takes place with the support of the University Funds Tutoring Project in groups of 25 students.

The exam is only written, consisting of 45 multiple choice quizzes that focus on each module. The final mark will be the average of the marks obtained, expressed out of thirty. The exam is considered passed only if a sufficient assessment has been reported for each of the modules.