Students have studied diagnostic tests used to identify disease agents and have examined how antibiotics can be used to treat bacterial infections. Students are now discussing infectious disease prevention, specifically through vaccination. In the aftermath of the bacterial meningitis cases at Sue’s school, all student medical records are reviewed and any student who did not receive the meningitis vaccine is called back in for immediate immunization. Vaccination is a valuable first line of defense against this debilitating infection and could make the difference between a few isolated cases and a full-blown outbreak. Students are exploring the impact vaccination has had on public health over the years; by interviewing individuals from different generations about their vaccination
history, students
will interpret how vaccines
have altered disease
trends. Students will review
how vaccines work
in the body. They will
delve deeper into the science
of molecular biology
and learn how genetic
engineering can be used to
manufacture viable vaccines.
