Infectious Respiratory Disease

Introduction

In the early days and weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, when cases began to emerge in Chicago, it may not have occurred to many how significant an impact the disease would have. Some viewed initial school closures as a brief respite from their regular lives. Very quickly, people’s thoughts turned to panic, confusion, fear, and anger as the cases and deaths from the disease rose. Amid the pandemic, many students’ “normal lives” were upended, and they expressed feeling that life was spiraling out of control. Families were first losing incomes, then they were losing lives. Students were balancing being normal teenagers with new challenges and responsibilities, such as earning money by working in essential jobs when many parents were out of work or too sick to go to their jobs. Many students were juggling full-time jobs while doing remote schooling at the same time. These weren’t just the stories shared on the news; these were the stories being shared by my students. In response to the feeling of a lack of control, the goal of this unit is to provide students with a deeper understanding of pathogens, strategies for stopping respiratory viruses at various stages of the infection process, and the effectiveness of different prevention methods.

This unit will begin with an overview of pathogens with a focus on infectious respiratory diseases. This will include major respiratory diseases caused by pathogens (e.g., COVID-19, measles, influenza, and tuberculosis), the basic structures of pathogens that cause respiratory diseases, vaccines and therapeutics, and the stigma associated with some of these illnesses. The unit will review case studies on the viruses that cause COVID-19, influenza, and measles to demonstrate how virus transmission can be controlled through therapeutics and environmental interventions. This could occur at any point along the chain of infection (i.e., the source or reservoir, point of exit, mode of transmission, point of entry, or in the host).¹ Additionally, this unit will explore how the virus could be controlled through the elimination of the pathogen from the environment, isolation from the pathogen, instruction, and personal protection. The unit will include student-led discussions on the ethics of methods of control, like vaccine mandates. It will culminate with students designing solutions using evidence to combat indoor airborne transmission.

This unit is essential and relevant to my students, as it provides better knowledge and understanding of pathogens and how to control them so that they can feel more in control. The more students can understand how to effectively prevent or stop infection, the better they can protect themselves and their families, as well as design indoor air spaces that minimize infections for susceptible individuals.