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Description
What are viruses? How do they replicate? Where do they come from? How do they enter the human population? How do they cause disease? Why do they cause epidemics? Why are some viruses much more dangerous than others? How do we control and prevent infections?
At a time when the importance of virology does not need to be emphasised, this module will address these questions by exploring the remarkable and intimate interaction between virus and host at many levels: molecular, cellular, host organism and population. We will discover how viruses have adapted to optimise survival and replication in the fundamentally hostile environment that their host provides and we will discuss the many effector mechanisms that hosts deploy to prevent viral infection or control it once established. The module is centred on the idea that an understanding of basic virology is essential for understanding viral disease. Drawing on a major strength in virology at UCL, the module will provide an advanced understanding of the principles of virus replication and structure, insight into the virus-host interaction and a broad knowledge of individual virus infections, their treatment and prevention.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module you will be able to answer the following questions:
- What are viruses?
- How do they replicate?
- How do they enter the human population?
- How and why do they cause disease?
- Why do they cause epidemics?
- How do we control and prevent infections?
You will also become familiar with current thinking in virology through discussion and presentation of a journal article.
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 8th April 2024.
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