Animal Viruses and Diseases – Online Course – FutureLearn

Discover how animal viruses are transmitted between animals and humans and learn more about the diseases they produce Explore the science behind animal viruses and how they are transmitted Animal viruses cause huge economic losses to farmers and severe emotional distress to animal owners They may even be transmitted to humans known as zoonosis posing important questions about their spread and control In this course you will learn about animal viruses such as parvovirus that affect pets birds sheep cattle swine and horses and produce important diseases including zoonotic diseases The course has been developed by a team at the Complutense University of Madrid who are all experienced in teaching virology and infectious diseases at veterinary schools at Madrid and Alfort Introduction to animal viruses their form and structure or morphology and characteristics Basic information to help understanding viral diseases in animals and humans Faecal-oral transmission using parvoviruses and canine parvovirosis as an example Open wounds focusing on rabies and other zoonotic viruses which produce diseases in both humans and animals Arthropod transmission viruses that are carried by insects and ticks and introduced directly into the bloodstream Airborne transmission such as influenza which may be transmitted from birds and pigs to humans Other infections difficult to control because they are persistent produced by viruses that remain in their host including herpesvirus and retrovirus