Unit Synopsis
On completion of this unit, you will be able to identify and discuss the clinical significance of viruses, prions, fungi and parasites causing human disease. You will investigate the morphological characteristics, epidemiology, laboratory identification of these microorganisms and will be able to debate causes of mycological, parasitic and viral infectious diseases. You will discuss the life cycle of important parasites and their relevance to disease control. You will be able to interpret basic serological tests for the detection of human pathogenic viruses.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 3 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Prerequisites: MBIO19012 Microbiology AND BIOL12106 Molecular Biology OR BMSC12012 Molecular Cell Biology Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School |
Compulsory Residential School View Unit Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Practical Assessment | 0% |
| 2. Group Work | 20% |
| 3. Poster Sessions | 30% |
| 4. Examination | 50% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 2 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 33.33% response rate.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: Student Evaluation
Residential School could be enhanced by the inclusion of additional fungi slides.
Additional fungi slides will be included in the residential school practical.
Additional time was allocated for fungi slides. Numerous slides are already available for students to identify fungal types with the help of accompanying medically important fungal atlases.
Source: Self Reflection
Assignments can be updated to include a greater variety of topics. The final examination is challenging with the viva voce. Consider changing to an invigilated examination.
Assignment topics are now updated. In addition, the final exam format has now been changed to invigilated rather than by viva voce.
The invigilated written exam was conducted this year instead of the viva voce format. The change allowed for a more standardised assessment process, ensuring consistency and fairness across all students. Feedback indicated that the written format provided a clearer structure for students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding.
Source: Student Evaluation
Update assignment rubrics.
Assignment rubrics are now updated and modified
Assignment rubrics were updated and modified.
Source: SUTE
Students love the fact the lectures and tutorials are interactive. it draws student's attention.
Continue the current formats for the tutorial and lecture sessions.
In Progress
Source: SUTE and self-reflection
Develop a study guide to aid with study
Develop a study guide to support student engagement and progress.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
More visual learning aspects on Moodle.
Consider adding more visual learning aspects on Moodle site.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Improve structure and organisation of residential school material and manual.
Revise the residential school laboratory manual and look for lack of clarity and modify accordingly.
In Progress
Source: Self-reflection
Additional case studies for each organ infection would be useful.
Consider including at least one case study per tutorial session
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Discuss the clinical significance and laboratory detection of the principal viral/prion, fungal and parasitic pathogens of each of the human body systems
- Appraise the use of molecular, histological and culture-based techniques for identifying viruses/prions, fungi and parasites causing human disease
- Use practical skills to identify pathogenic viruses, fungi and parasites
- Evaluate and interpret different testing methods used in the detection and monitoring of infectious diseases caused by viruses/prions, fungi and parasites
- Apply appropriate quality control processes in the practice of virology, mycology and parasitology.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Practical Assessment | • | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Group Work | • | ||||
| 3 - Poster Sessions | • | • | |||
| 4 - Examination | • | • | • | ||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • | • |
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | ||||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |