School: Medical and Health Sciences

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Public Health Microbiology
  • Unit Code

    HST2131
  • Year

    2025
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    1
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr Edmore MASAKA

Description

In this unit, students will be introduced to public health microbiology with a special focus on the microbes within all habitats, water, wastewater, food, air, and soil, and their beneficial and detrimental impacts on human health and welfare. Students will learn about the basic microbiological techniques used to isolate and identify pathogenic microorganisms. They will acquire the understanding and skills necessary to evaluate environmental microbiological risks and to describe interventions that will improve the health of human populations. Students will learn how to research and communicate features and current impacts of specific pathogens that cause disease in at-risk groups. They will learn about and gain a comprehensive understanding of the One Health approach in addressing zoonotic diseases, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and considering ethical and social implications in public health interventions.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Describe appropriate interventions in response to environmental microbiological risk that will improve the health of human populations.
  2. Describe current methods used to identify the cause of microbiological diseases affecting public health.
  3. Communicate the features and current impact of specific microbes that cause disease in human populations.
  4. Evaluate human infectious disease using One Health strategies.

Unit Content

  1. Introduction to public health microbiology and the microbial association of water (including wastewater), food, air, and soil.
  2. Microbiology review: Cell structures, replication, growth conditions and taxonomy.
  3. Introduction to basic microbiological techniques
  4. Waterborne pathogens and associated infections.
  5. Foodborne pathogens and associated food poisoning illnesses and intoxications.
  6. Microorganisms in surface and subsurface soil environments and their associated infections.
  7. Aero-microbiology and airborne infections, air and its composition -bioaerosols, indoor and outdoor air.
  8. Hospital acquired infections (HAI): Environmental sources and types of HAI and their control.
  9. One Health Approach to managing infectious disease.

Learning Experience

Students will engage in learning experiences via ECU’s LMS as well as additional ECU learning technologies

Additional Learning Experience Information

Students will learn from a guest lecture delivered by an epidemiologist from the Communicable Disease Directorate to learn and understand the contemporary approaches and challenges presented by emerging and re-emerging pathogens of public health concern.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
ExerciseModule content discussion10%
PresentationPublic Health Microbiology Presentation Assignment40%
Case StudyPublic Health Microbiology Case Study: One Health Approach50%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
ExerciseModule content discussion10%
PresentationPublic Health Microbiology Presentation Assignment40%
Case StudyPublic Health Microbiology Case Study: One Health Approach50%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

HST2131|1|1