The Infection Dynamics of a Hypothetical Virus in a High school: Use of an Ultraviolet Detectable Powder

Abstract

The epidemiology of infectious agents has historically been and is currently an important topic of study and concern. Students are bombarded with media reports of bioterrorism, infectious outbreaks, and new vaccine updates. The anthrax scare in 2001, the SARS outbreak in China in 2002, and the influenza surge during the winter of 2003-04 are all poignant reminders of the dangers and challenges associated with the spread of infectious agents. Because today's high school students are future scientists, politicians, etc., they need to be educated about current and upcoming problems for our society, including disease characteristics and their modes of transmission. Given the variety of diseases that can affect people, it is important to understand human behaviors associated with disease spread. Schools, prisons, hospitals, churches, and employment establishments act to congregate people where close contact can be an ideal environment for disease transmission. Disease can spread very quickly through crowded animal and plant populations, which, ecologically, is known as a density-dependent effect. The spread of disease under density-dependent conditions can be a strong factor in controlling population numbers. Also, modern travel allows a person to travel to any continent in the world in less than 24 hours, thereby enhancing the spread of disease. With the human population greater than 6 billion (United Nations Population Division, 2003) and growing, it is important for high school students to understand how human crowding and travel can influence the spread of diseases. The project described in this paper permits students to investigate how an infectious agent can spread and gives them experience with data collection. To facilitate learning more about infectious agents, the biology students at West Fargo High School (WFHS) are required to read the book, The Hot Zone (Preston, 1994). The students enjoy the book and learn about modes of viral transmission, viral ecology, and how scientists track the spread of a virus. Through classroom discussion and study guides, the students come to understand that behavior, traditions, and customs can influence the spread of disease. However, to provide an authentic learning experience, students can also study a simulated disease outbreak within their high school. The lab activity presented in this paper permits students to function as data-collecting scientists who are studying infection dynamics. The study of disease transmission is relevant to students because many have part-time jobs, do volunteer work, or will be employed in medical facilities, daycare centers, or other public positions. Understanding the importance of personal hygiene and its relationship to the spread of infectious agents is crucial in public environments (Trampuz & Widmer, 2004). The exercise is supported by numerous teaching standards. The project addresses the National Science Education Standards' (1996) Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry, Content Standard C: Life Science (Interdependence of Organisms) and Content Standard F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives. Students use scientific inquiry by designing and conducting an experiment that tracks the spread of a hypothetical virus. Working together as a class the students, with the aid of some coaching, put together a sampling technique to determine the variables necessary to ascertain an effect of an infectious disease in a school population of 1,540 people in grades 9-12. After conducting the experiment, they worked in small groups to compile the data and communicated their findings on a class poster to their high school peers (see Baltezore & Newbrey, 2003 for the Web address of the poster). This experiment permits the students to observe how humans affect the spread of microorganisms, which addresses many of the points in Content Standard F. Emerging infectious diseases and their transmittance are related to personal and community health, population growth, and environmental quality. …