Acta Veterinaria Brno 2001, 70:211-215
EPIZTEXT: The First Electronic Textbook for
Education and Training in General Epizootiology
V.Kouba
Abstract
First electronic textbook for undergraduate
and postgraduate courses in general epizootiology was developed under the name
EPIZTEXT. Its version 2.2 is operated under Microsoft WORD text processing
software for WINDOWS. The English
written textbook contains 34 chapters. The initial one defines the
epizootiology as the science that studies animal population health and
diseases, their determinants and defines methods for promotion, protection and
restoration of health. The first section covers animal population
characteristics of health importance, disease resistance, population health and
disease measurement indicators, population structures according to
epizootiological characteristics, etiological agents, their sources and ways of
transmission, environmental factors, infection process, epizootic process,
disease nidality, zoonoses, economic factors and consequences of population
health and diseases. The second section includes principles and methods for
animal population health and diseases investigation, information systems,
analyses, monitoring and surveillance. The third section deals with principles
and methods for practical actions such as decision-making about anti-epizootic
strategy and measures, active creation of population health, preventive and
recovery measures including disease reduction, elimination and eradication,
measures against diseases common to man and animals, protection of country
territory, sanitation, planning, organization and management of animal
population health programmes, their results and efficiency evaluation. Learners
can study perusing the text, finding easily selected terms and chapters and
print parts or the whole textbook. Epizootiological methods are indispensable
also for avoiding diseases spreading through international trade in animal
commodities which represents serious risk of disease globalization.
Population medicine, software,
disease analysis, health protection, control methods, disease management
Among modern tools for teaching and learning
belong electronic textbooks facilitating teachers’ work and learners’ study.
One of the first electronic textbooks in veterinary medicine was developed for
general epizootiology education and training under the name EPIZTEXT. Epizootiology
is the science which studies origin, frequency, distribution, development and
extinction of animal health and disease at population level, their determinants
and defines the methods for promotion, protection and restoration of health by
reducing, eliminating and eradicating common diseases. Epizootiology was
introduced in many veterinary faculties as undergraduate curriculum subject and
in many national and international postgraduate courses. Zoonoses and their
control represent particular part of this discipline. General epizootiology
includes principles and methods applicable on any specific health and disease
at population level at any place and time. This discipline educates
veterinarians to be able to investigate epizootiological situation and apply
practical measures at field and managerial levels.
An impulse to develop the first electronic
textbook in epizootiology was given by "Chapters" elaborated by M.
Salman and I. Gardner, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins in 1992 using WORDPERFECT 5.1 software.
EPIZTEXT technical contents was based upon
author's publications (3,4,6) and experience as teacher of undergraduate and
postgraduate courses and responsible officer for diseases control at local,
national and international levels. Several
literature sources are mentioned in the Bibliography (1,2,7,8,9,10,11,12,14).
A syllabus of general epizootiology can be found e.g., in the Report on
Consultation on Undergraduate and Postgraduate Teaching in Veterinary Public
Health, World Health Organization, 1983 (13).
Material and Methods
The objectives were to develop
an electronic textbook as a teaching tool supporting the study of general
epizootiology. The material should achieve that the learners:
- will know animal population
characteristics of health importance, etiological agents, their sources and paths
of transmission, infection and epizootic processes, influencing factors and consequences
of animal population health and diseases;
- will be able to investigate,
analyze, monitor and survey animal population health and disease situation;
- will be able to elaborate
strategy, identify and apply effective measures for animal population health
protection and recovery (diseases reduction, elimination and eradication),
investigate outbreaks, elaborate, organize, implement and evaluate animal
population health programmes.
Main criteria when preparing this
textbook were as follows:
- the electronic textbook to
be user-friendly;
- to apply procedure of a
widely used word processing software package;
- the size of unzipped
textbook to fit into one 1,44 KB diskette;
- to provide a wide range of
information and methods for undergraduate education and postgraduate training,
self-study and problem solutions;
- to give priority to those
methods which had already proven to be useful and feasible in successful
programmes of disease prevention, reduction and eradication and
- to provide methods
applicable for general as well as for any specific health and diseases,
including those transmissible to man.
The first experimental version of general
epizootiology electronic textbook was prepared in 1994 for Veterinary Faculty
for Foreign Students, University of Veterinary Sciences, Kosice where all
subjects are taught in English. This version used WORDPERFECT 5.1 software
package for IBM Personal Computers applying files merging procedure. It could
be run directly from the diskette or after installation on hard disk. The text
could be read from the computer screen or be printed on paper. “Table of
contents” served as the menu. To get desired chapter keys “ctrl”-“home”
followed by page number were used.
To facilitate conversion into newer word
processing software packages all original WORDPERFECT files composing the
textbook were individually included in the same diskette together with original
EPITEXT produced in one block. Individual files could be converted separately
into new word processing software and then be read or printed partly or as a
whole chapter using standard operation procedures of the given text processing
software.
Finally, EPIZTEXT was
converted into WORD 7 for WINDOWS 95 as a whole (in one file) and thus
simplifying significantly the operations and opening it for future transfer
into newer software versions.
Results
An English written electronic textbook for
education and training in general epizootiology was developed under the name
EPIZTEXT. Its version 2.2 was prepared for being operated under Microsoft WORD
7 text processing software for WINDOWS 95. It is open for newer text processing
software generations. The first experimental version had originally 230
single-spaced pages of text using Base Roman fonts of WORLDPERFECT 5.1. The
final version 2.2 in WORD 7 was reduced to 163 single-space pages thanks
smaller characters using Courier New size 12 fonts. The size of this version
requires 793 KB without zipping, i.e. it gets into one 1,44 KB diskette.
The textbook starts with “Preface”
explaining the purpose and with “Table of Contents” serving as menu. The
textbook consists of 34 chapters (Table 1) complemented by Bibliography and
Annex with selected quantitative indicators for measuring animal population
health/disease phenomena.
The first section covers: epizootiology
definition, objectives, methods, division and relations to other sciences; animal
population characteristics of health importance such as species, categories,
location, movement, development, etc.; disease susceptibility and resistance,
inherent and acquired immunity; definitions of animal population health and
disease; collective health
characteristics and measurement indicators; morbidity and mortality definitions
and measurement indicators; structure of herds and populations according to
their parts of different health/disease characteristics; etiological agents and
their characteristics of epizootiological importance, sources and ways of
transmission (including through trade in animals and their products); natural
environmental factors; infection process as interaction of animal - etiological
agents - environment; epizootic process as interaction of animal population -
etiological agents - environment; disease nidality characteristics and
measurement; natural nidality; zoonoses characteristics including interrelations
between animals and man; biological, economic, public health and social factors
influencing epizootic processes; positive and negative consequences of
population health and diseases.
The second section covers: principles, types
and methods for investigation of population health/disease situation;
evaluation of diagnostic tests quality; field surveys and screening tests;
sampling; information systems principles, objectives, data sources, reporting, data
collecting and processing; analysis of animal population health and disease
situation - principles, types, evaluation methods, measurement, indicators
(incidence, prevalence, extinction, etc.), space and time aspects; methods for
evaluation of epizootic process dynamics; monitoring and surveillance
principles and methods; theory, experiments and studies in epizootiology.
The third section covers methods for
practical actions at field and managerial levels based upon complex analyses:
antiepizootic strategy and measures concepts, priorities, objectives, types as
well as biological, ecological, economic and social influencing factors; active
creation of animal population health, i.e. formation of new generation composed
of health animals using regulated reproduction process and establishing
specific disease free herds/flocks and zones; general and specific preventive
measures including vaccination and application of zoohygienic procedure;
specific and general recovery measures such as disease reduction, elimination
and eradication under different conditions; measures for post-eradication
period; protection of country territory against introduction of animal diseases
from abroad; preventive and recovery measures against zoonoses (human health
protection); sanitation procedures under different conditions; decision-making
on planning, organization and management of antiepizootic activities;
biological, public health, economic and social results of animal population
health programmes and their evaluation.
The textbook is open to further amendments and development.
Discussion
Modern pedagogical methods require to
use also electronic textbooks
complementing traditional teaching tools. The aim is to facilitate work of
teachers and study of students and
trainees and to provide reference source
in the given field of science. Electronic texts will gradually replace a good
proportion of classical textbooks that are usually expensive and not always
available. Their advantage is also that they can be easily copied and printed.
EPIZTEXT represents the first electronic
university textbook in epizootiology and belongs among the first in veterinary
medicine. This electronic textbook can be studied either perusing the text on
the screen or reading printed hard copies of selected parts or of the whole
document.
EPIZTEXT version 2.2 */ contains information
and methods that have proved to be useful in practice when solving animal
population health and disease problems. Its structure corresponds with the
syllabi used by the author and with his university textbooks. EPIZTEXT provides
information about epizootic processes and health and diseases control methods that
are applicable on any specific health and disease of any animal population at
any place, time and level. It represents one component of a set of
epizootiology teaching and study
materials for undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Antiepizootic activities start and end in the
field. Their main criterion is the final result not in administrative offices
but at the grass-roots level of animal populations. Therefore, theoretical
lectures and studies have to be combined with practical field (under real or
simulated conditions) and in-door exercises (using also particular software for
epizootiological analyses such as author’s EPIZOO **/). EPIZTEXT represents a modest
contribution to the effort to fill the gap in modern education and training in
this so important branch of animal population medicine. Epizootiology as the
science dealing with animal health and disease at population level is becoming
much more important than in the past. Only epizootiological methods can cope
with rapidly increasing international trade in animal commodities representing
serious risk of globalization of diseases.
*/ Epiztext is available at the Department of Infectology, University of
Veterinary medicine, Košice, Slovakia.
**/ EPIZOO (5) is software package for analyzing, planning and problem
solution in animal population health and disease. It may be obtained from World
Health Organization Internet address:
http:\\www.who.int/emc/diseases/zoo/epizoo.html.
References
1. Acha
P., Szyfres B. (1980) - Zoonoses and communicable diseases common to man and
animals. Pan American Health Organization Sci. Publ. No. 345, Washington, 720
pp.
2.
Halpin B. (1978) - Patterns of Animal Disease. The English Language Book
Society and Bailliere & Tindall, London, 184 pp.
3. Kouba V., Truszczynski M. (1984) - Manual of
Epizootiology and Animal Health Economics, FAO Postgraduate Training Course,
Hanoi, 250 pp.
4. Kouba V. (1987) - Epizootiologia
general. Secunda edicion. Editorial Pueblo y Educacion, La Habana, 867 pp.
5. Kouba
V. (1994) - EPIZOO: a computer software package of methods for animal
population health analysis and programming. Rev. Sci. tech. Off.int.Epiz., Paris, Vol 13 (3), 637-650.
6. Kouba V. (1994) - General Epizootiology.
University of Veterinary Sciences, Kosice, 209 pp.
7.
Martin S.W., Meek A.H., Willeberg P. (1987) - Veterinary Epidemiology.
Principles and Methods. Iowa State University Press, Ames, 345 pp.
8.
Office International des Epizooties (1999) - International Animal Health
Code, Paris, 468 pp.
9. Putt
S.N.H., Shaw A.P.M., Woods A.J., Tyler L., James A.D. (1987) - Veterinary
Epidemiology and Economics in Africa. International Livestock Centre for
Africa, Addis Ababa, ILCA Manual No 3., 129 pp.
10.
Schwabe C.W., Riemann H.P., Franti C.E. (1977) - Epidemiology in
Veterinary Practice. Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia, 303 pp.
11.
Thrusfield M. (1995) - Veterinary Epidemiology, 2nd edn. Blackwell
Science, Oxford.
12. Toma
& al. (1999) - Dictionary of Veterinary Epidemiology, Iowa State University
Press, Ames, 284 pp.
13. WHO (1983) - Syllabi for general epizootiology. Report on
Consultation on Undergraduate and Postgraduate Teaching in Veterinary Public
Health, VPH 83.48, World Health Organization, Geneva, pp. 65-69
14. Col.
(1995) - Manual for teaching basic veterinary epidemiology. Istituto
Zooprofilattico Sperimentale, Teramo and WHO in cooperation with FAO, 327 pp.
TABLE 1.
E P I Z T E X T C H A P T E R S
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1. Epizootiology: definition, objectives,
objects and methods
2.
Animal population and its characteristics of
epizootiological importance
3. Animal population disease resistance
4.
Animal population health and disease
5.
Animal population collective health
6.
Animal population morbidity and mortality
7.
Animal population epizootiological structure
8.
Etiological agents of animal population diseases
9.
Sources of biological etiological agents
10. Transmission of biological etiological
agents
11.
Natural environmental factors
12.
Interaction animal-etiological agent-environment
13.
Epizootic process
14.
Animal population disease nidality
15.
Diseases common to man and animals
16.
Economic and social factors influencing epizootic
process
17.
Consequences of animal population health and
diseases
18.
Investigation of epizootiological situation
19.
Epizootiological information system
20.
Analysis of epizootiological situation
21.
Epizootiological monitoring and surveillance
22.
Epizootiological theory, experiments and studies
23.
Epizootiological strategy and measures
24.
Active creation of animal population health
25.
General preventive measures in animal population
26.
Protection of animal population specific health
27. Epizootiological protection of country
territory
28.
Animal population general health recovery
29.
Animal population specific health recovery
30.
Measures against diseases common to man and animals
31.
Epizootiological sanitation
32.
Planning of epizootiological measures
33.
Organization of epizootiological activities
34.
Results and efficiency of epizootiological programmes
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