Veterinary Medical Applications
Lesson Title: Zoonotic Diseases
TEKS Addressed in Lesson:
130.6. (c)(8)(D)
Lesson Objectives:
Students Will:
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Define zoonotic
Classify conditions/diseases into one of four groups of zoonotic diseases
Compare and contrast the effects of parasitic, viral, fungal and bacterial diseases
Identify the factors that cause a particular disease as well as treatments and cures
Conduct research using the Internet and print materials regarding a disease topic
Write an integrated 3 page report regarding the disease topic
Conduct an interview with a person who has specific knowledge of a disease
Integrate anatomy and physiology of the body using artistically pleasing and anatomically
correct diagrams
Integrate mathematics concepts by graphing current disease statistics
Create a proper bibliography for their report
Understand how contagious diseases spread rapidly
Key Terms/Vocabulary
Alternative Therapy - A treatment used instead of a conventional treatment
Infectious- likely to be transmitted to people, organisms, etc., through the environment.
Direct Transmission- a transmission mechanism in which the infectious agent is transferred directly into
the body via touching or biting or kissing or sexual intercourse or by droplets entering the eye or nose or
mouth
Indirect Transmission- a transmission mechanism in which the infectious agent is transferred to the
person by a fomite of vector
Chronic- persisting for a long time or constantly recurring.
Vector- an organism, typically a biting insect or tick, that transmits a disease or parasite from one animal
or plant to another
Fomite- any inanimate object (veterinary tools, books, pens, etc) that can transmit infectious agents
from one person to another
Interest Approach/Anticipatory Set
-Review traits of a healthy animal and an unhealthy animal. This will assist students in drawing
conclusions upon animal illnesses.
List 12 diseases on the board, these should be diseases that the students are somewhat familiar with.
Then have students classify these diseases into either bacterial, fungal, viral or parasitic.
How are these diseases alike?
How do they differ?
Are they treated the same?
Are they contagious?
What does zoonotic mean?
Are all diseases zoonotic?
What are some examples of diseases that are not zoonotic?
Teaching Plan and Strategy Presentation of New Material
Students should fill in their copy of the teacher presentation Principles of Diseases PowerPoint.
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Healthy vs. Unhealthy Animals
Characteristics of infectious/zoonotic diseases
Types of Zoonotic Disease
o Symptoms
o Transmission
o Diagnosis
o Treatment
o Prevention
Personal Safety
Preventative Measures
Activity/Application/Student Engagement/Laboratory
Students should be assigned at least one zoonotic disease. Some diseases should be associated with
small animals and some with livestock. Students should research the following information and create a
presentation to share with the class. (Make sure to assign students their diseases so the same disease
isn’t presentation twice. (Research should take no more than 1.5 hours)
Suggested Disease Topics:
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Leptospirosis
Foot and Mouth
Brucellosis
Encephalitis
Heart Worm
Ring Worm
Black Leg
Bot Fly
Round Worm
Liver Fluke
Tape Worm
Kennel Cough
Parvovirus
Coronavirus
Distemper
Upon completion of research and completing their presentation, students should present to the class.
Peers should follow along and answer the following questions about each of the diseases
Infectious Disease Research Assignment
You will be assigned 1 disease to research for this project.
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You will have one day in the computer lab to research the disease
You will have one day in class to create your brochure
o Must have 6 complete sections
o Sources must be cited
You must be able to present information to the class without reading directly from the
brochure. Know your information don’t just copy and paste it into your brochure.
Be able to answer 2 peer questions on this topic.
Your brochure must include:
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Title
Picture associated with disease
What is the causative agent of the disease? Is it a bacterium, a virus, a fungus or parasite
o If it is a virus, what are its characteristics (DNA, positive-strand RNA, negativestrand\RNA, or retrovirus? enveloped or naked? how large is it? does it form a provirus?
Any unique characteristics of its multiplication cycle?).
If it is eukaryote, is it a fungus, an alga, a protozoan, a platyhelminth, or a nematode? Is it
multicellular or unicellular? What is its life cycle?
B. History: How long have we known about this disease?
o Describe the changes in our knowledge and attitudes toward this disease throughout
history.
Epidemiology: Describe the prevalence and transmission of this disease.
o Where (in the world) is the disease prevalent? How many people are currently infected?
What is (are) the reservoir(s) of the pathogen? What is (are) the mode(s) of transmission?
o Pathology: Describe the pathogenic effects on cells, tissues, and organ systems.
Where in the body (what tissues/organs/cells) does the pathogen affect?
What damage does the pathogen inflict? How is this damage inflicted (is there direct mechanical
damage? is a toxin produced? does the immune response cause damage?)?
What is the time sequence of the disease
What are the major signs and symptoms?
Response and Treatment
o What types of medical treatments exist? Describe how these treatments affect the
progression of the disease.
Describe measures that can be taken to limit the risk of infection.
Evaluation/Summary
Student Research Assignment
Virus/Bacteria Lab
References/Additional Materials/Extended Learning Opportunities/Enrichment
Other Activities:
http://www.diseasedetectives.org/deeper/basics
Merck Veterinary Manual
Cornell Curriculum Materials
College and Career Readiness Standards:
Science
VI. A-G
English
V. A-C