MS and PGD Programme in Medical Entomology and disease
Vector Control (MEDVC)
The MS (M.Phil) a two year Degree Programme and Post Graduate Diploma a one year
diploma programme, in Medical Entomology and Disease vector Control (MEDVC)
offered by the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad and both courses are administered
by the Health Services Academy (HSA).
Goal of the Programme
Pakistan, other neighboring and Regional countries are suffering from a hosts of vectorborne diseases such as Malaria, leishmaniasis, plague, Dengue, DHF, CCHF and other
arboviruses that keep resurging or re-emerging, causing morbidity, mortality and
disability. But unfortunately Pakistan and other neighboring countries are experiencing
an acute shortage of qualified people to plan and manage disease vector control
programmes at all administrative levels of health. In case of Pakistan this training
programme nicely fits into the priority need for capacity building of vector control staff
that are being recruited by the Provincial Ministries of Health. This will strengthen public
health sector at district level. On technical basis it is estimated that each district needs
at least 2 vector control staff. Therefore, this training course needs to be run for at least
ten years to fill the existing gap of trained manpower in this specialized field. The main
goal of this course is to fill this gap by training qualified students in the area of MEDVC.
Graduates from this course will initially go into operational disease vector control
programmes in Pakistan at District level. The critical mass of experts produced will also
fill the gap of non-existing indigenous applied research in Pakistan and some of them
may go for higher studies and teaching positions.
Objectives of the Programme.
Upon completion, the graduates of the Medical Entomology and Disease Vector Control
should be able to:
 Identify major vector-borne diseases and the vector species/pests responsible
for transmission of these diseases
 Plan, implement, monitor and evaluate vector control programmes based on
integrated Vector and disease management approaches in accordance with the
prevailing epidemiological, social and economic conditions.
 Apply acquired knowledge for the control and prevention of vector-borne
diseases in the country.
 This will be achieved through acquisition of a matrix of skills acquired from seven
Diploma modules and 13 MS modules including:
 Knowledge of the major vectors and vector-borne diseases of relevance to the
Region;
 Skills to conduct entomological surveillance and operational research.
Specific objectives
 Fill the gap of trained manpower by training students through Diploma and MS
Degree programmes in the area of medical entomology and disease vector
control.
 To provide districts and provinces with at least one qualified entomologist /
vector control expert by 2016
 To conduct research on different aspect of vector-borne diseases and their
vectors present in Pakistan.
Policy, roles and Responsibilities of MEDVC, HSA
Roles and Functions of the Department
Teaching:
1. Preparation and updating of syllabus of PGD-MEDVC.
2. Search and identification of external faculty within and outside the country.
3. Arrangement of lectures and practical by visiting faculty.
4. Preparation and scheduling of teaching courses.
5. Participate in overall planning and management of courses.
6. Prepare and conduct lectures.
7. Make arrangements for field studies in various parts of the country.
8. Prepare and conduct assignments.
9. Preparation and checking of examination papers and class tests.
10. Preparation of final university examination results.
11. Invigilate examinations.
Research and Development:
1. Preparation of research proposals.
2. Monitoring Students research projects.
3. Establishment and maintenance of insectary for research and demonstration
purpose.
4. Establishment and maintenance of MEDVC laboratory.
5. Organize field collections around Islamabad and other parts of the country.
6. Identification of Disease vectors of Pakistan.
7. Establishment of museum specimen for Medical Entomology work.
8. Establishment of station for field experiments.
Conduct Short Courses/ Workshop / Seminars:
1. Short courses will be conducted.
2. Seminars and workshops will be conducted.
Management:
1. Committee support.
2. Faculty support and development.
Programme Duration, Credits and Medium of Instruction for MS programme
The intensive curriculum emphasizes basic principles of disease vector transmission and
epidemiology with a focus on epidemiological/entomological investigations, vector
control methods and programme planning, monitoring, evaluation and management.
The course programme will be conducted in a modular form building upon and
integrating with each other in a total of 13 Modules organized in four semesters running
for a total of 24 month period. The first two semesters are dedicated to course work,
culminating in an end-of-semester examination. In the third semester, the examination
is held by mid-semester, and the remaining time is to be used to complete student
dissertations. During the first three semesters, students are expected to attend all
classes at the HSA; however, during the fourth semester, they may return to a job
environment and carry out an on-the-job assignment as part of their practicum and
submit a short written report and an appraisal from the immediate supervisor/mentor.
All semesters are followed by semester break of up to four weeks' duration. In the third
semester all students have to conduct a field project leading to a dissertation. The total
programme consists of 60 credits. One credit is equivalent to 16-18 hours of formal
teaching/contact hours or 48-54 hours of practical fieldwork. Practical fieldwork is
defined as consisting of individual fieldwork, group fieldwork, field visits, individual
assignments and class exercises.
English is the medium of instruction and examination for the MEDVC programme.
(Please refer to prospectus for more details)
Programme Duration, Credits and Medium of Instruction for PGD
The first two semesters (module 1-5) will be dedicated to course work. In the end of
each semester a written examination will be held. During this time all students are
expected to attend all classes at the Health Services Academy. This will be followed by
Module 6, a 2 months of supervised field training. During the third semester students
are also expected to identify (with the support of a faculty member) and conduct a 3-4
months project leading to a dissertation. The total course programme consists of 60
credits. One credit is equivalent to 16-18 hours of formal teaching/contact hours or 4854 hours of practical field work. Practical fieldwork is defined as consisting of individual
fieldwork, group fieldwork, field visits, individual assignments and class exercise.
English is the medium of instruction and examination for the Postgraduate Diploma in
Medical Entomology and Disease Vector Control programme.
(Please refer to prospectus for more details)
Short Courses:
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Short courses will be conducted.
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Seminars and workshops will be conducted.
Recent Assignments:
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The department is currently working on the research project in collaboration
with Abbott’s Laboratory on ‘Comparison of new mosquito repellent product
produced by Abbott Laboratories with Mospel® under Laboratory and field conditions.’
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The research work is divided into three phases. The first phase has been
completed and the report has been submitted to concern authorities. Now work
on the second phase of the project is in progress.
Applied field research is being conducted at district level to establish insecticide
resistance susceptibility status of malaria vector mosquitoes.
The department is working on the research papers for publications in peer
review journals (National and International), some of the articles are in pipe line
for publication that has been submitted to different well reputed national and
international scientific journals.
Research Publications:
Published/Accepted:
 Rathor H.R., A. Mnzava, K.M. Bile, A. Hafeez and S. Zaman. 2010 Report
Launching the first postgraduate diploma in medical entomology and disease
vector control in Pakistan. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal. EMHJ • Vol. 16
76-81.
 Hazrat Bilal, Imtinan Akram Khan and Soaib Ali Hassan. Plant extracts and
Suspected Dengue Vector. (Accepted for October issue in NAYS Bulletin).
Submitted articles:
 Unsar
Naeem-Ullah, Waseem
Akram, Faisal
Hafeez, Hamaad
R
Ahmad, Hazrat Bilal, Muhammad Arshad, Anjum Suhail, . Spatio-temporal
distribution of larval mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in different agroecological zones of the Punjab. Submitted in Parasites and Vectors (Impact
Factor 2.13)
 Hazrat Bilal, Waseem Akram, Sadurdin, Imtinan Akram Khan, Soaib Ali Hassan
and Muhammad Arshad. Larvicidal activity of selected plant extracts against
Aedes albopictus Skuse (Culicidae: Diptera).Submitted (2011). African
Entomology. (Impact factor 0.33)
 Hazrat Bilal, Waseem Akram, Hafiz Azhar Ali Khan, Soaib Ali Hassan and Imtinan
Akram Khan. Toxicity of Selected Indigenous Plant Extracts against Aedes
albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae): A Potential Dengue Vector in Dengue Positive
Areas. Submitted (2011) Pakistan Journal of Zoology. (Impact factor 0.24)
 Rabia Nawaz, Humayun Rashid Rathor, Hazrat Bilal, Soaib Ali Hassan and Imtinan
Akram Khan. Adulticidal activity of Olea vera, Linum usitatissimum and Piper
nigera against Anopheles stephensi and Aedes aegypti under laboratory
conditions. Submitted in Iranian journal of Arthropods Borne Diseases.
 Hazrat Bilal, Soaib Ali Hassan and Imtinan Akram Khan. Isolation and efficacy of
entomopathogenic fungus (Metarhizium anisopliae) for the control of Aedes
albopictus Skuse larvae; Suspected Dengue vector in Pakistan. Asian Pacific
Journal of Tropical Biomedicine. (Short communication).
Articles in preparation:
Rathor H.R., A. Hafeez, H. Bilal, S. A. Hassan, I. A. Khan and T. A. Faridi,
Comparison of three mosquito repellent formulations: Silk, Jasmine and Mospel for their
efficacy against Anopheles stephensi and Aedes aegypti under Laboratory conditions.
Snapshot
Partnership and collaboration:
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PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (Entomology Department)
University of Agriculture Faisalabad (Entomology Department)
National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Islamabad
National Agriculture research Center (NARC) Islamabad, National Insect Museum
Abbott’s Laboratories Pakistan
Department of .....GC University Lahore
National Institute of Malaria Research and training, Lahore.
Faculty:
Core Faculty:
S#
Name
Designatiuon
Qualifucation
Dr. Hamayun Rashid Rathor
Professor (MEDVC
Coordinator)
PhD
1
2
Miss Tallat Anwar Faridi
Sr. Demonstrator
MSc. Zoology
3
Mr. Soaib Ali Hassan
Research Asst
M.Sc. (Hons)
4
Mr. Hazrat Bilal
Research Asst
M.Sc (Hons)
5
Mr. Imtinan Akram Khan
Research Asst
M.Sc (Hons)
6
MR. Saleem Rana
Sr. Lecturer
M. Sc
Visiting Faculty: (National)
S/Nos.
FACULTY NAME
QUALIFICATIONS
1
DR Shakila Zaman
Ph.D.
2
DR Nusrat Jahan
Ph.D.
3
DR. Arif Munir
Ph.D.
4
DR. Waseem Akram
Ph.D.
5
Ms Ghazala Nadeem
M.Phill
6
DR. Qutubuddin Kakar
MBBS
7
MR. Saqib Razak
MBA (MIS)
Visiting Faculty (International)