Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases

Infectious disease epidemiology is targeted towards understanding the routes and risks of transmission of pathogens between humans, and from the envrionment to humans, and using this knowledge to design and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. This is a dynamic interplay between pathogens and humans, which clearly distinguishes infectious disease epidemiology from the epidemiology of non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular and oncology. We will introduce epidemiological methods and techniques that are specific for infectious diseases, such as outbreak investigations and (sero)surveillance. Specific (classes of) infectious diseases and their epidemiology will be covered. Other topics of the course include interventions such as vaccination, and antimicrobial resistance.

The objective of the course is to provide the student with insight in the principles and important issues of infectious disease epidemiology. Specific objectives of the course are to:

• Illustrate characteristics of infectious disease transmission dynamics which require specific approaches for epidemiological designs and analysis, such as dependency between cases.
• Illustrate features of (changes in) population structures of relevant pathogens, in relation to epidemiology of infections.
• Illustrate the impact of interventions on transmission dynamics and on the interaction between humans and pathogens.
• Provide practical training in performing specific epidemiological analyses.
• Get an overview of the public health relevance and response to infectious diseases.

Our courses are aimed at clinical researchers, nurses, general practitioners, and other health professionals who want to improve their skills in epidemiology, statistics and (clinical) research.

1 week, fulltime