SDNHM: Epidemic! The Natural History of Disease

Epidemic! The Natural History of Disease. At the San Diego Natural History Museum

Resources

Microbes
Diseases and PreventionTips
Epidemics
Interactive Sites for Students
A Career in Public Health or Medicine?
Teaching Resources
Local Focus on Infectious Diseases: What to Know and Where to Go
Other Links

Microbes

The Big Picture Book of Viruses
A catalog of virus pictures, which can be searched by name, structure/genome, host, and disease. Includes a guide to virus structure and useful links.

Microbe World
Kids can check out Sam Sleuth as he investigates microbe mysteries, microbes in the news, fun experiments, and careers in microbiology. MicrobeLibrary has undergraduate curricula and visual resources for educators. The Microbe World offers information on microbes, photos, links, and teacher resources for grade school to undergraduate level students.

The Bad Bug Book
Provides basic facts on microbes that cause foodborne illnesses. Includes nature of the disease, associated foods, and complications.

Diseases and PreventionTips

U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the lead federal agency whose mission is to protect the health and safety of people by developing and applying disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and education activities. Provides a listing of disease and health topics, traveler's health, the Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, data and statistics, publications, and links.

World Health Organization
The WHO acts as a directing and coordinating authority on international health efforts. This site includes health topics, reports, publications, and a library. What's New features disease outbreaks and emergencies. See Health Topics for information on communicable and infectious, tropical, vaccine preventable, and noncommunicable diseases. There are also sections on the environment, family and reproductive health, health policies and statistics, health technology, and lifestyle.

KidsHealth
Health information for kids, teens, and parents. Includes information on staying safe and healthy, games, answers to questions, and topics on feelings, emotions, and behavior.

Epidemics

Landmark Articles from the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1961-1996
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report's section contains the history of Centers for Disease Control and articles on disease and injury surveillance, infectious diseases, noninfectious conditions, and a bibliography.

Anatomy of an Epidemic
Contains general information about disease and specific epidemics. Animated maps show the spread of epidemics and quizzes test your knowledge of disease and epidemics. Includes a glossary of key words and a bibliography.

Discovery Channel - Epidemic!
Features information on the flu, TB, polio, dengue fever, and the hantavirus. Shows how space-age technologies are used to help predict future outbreaks with views from space. Includes excellent photos of the microbial world and diagrams of the flu virus and human immune system sequence.

Delta Omega Classics
Provides essays deemed as classic public health documents by the Honorary Society in Public Health, including several class epidemics, which are generally out-of-print or not widely-available in libraries.

The American Experience - Influenza 1918
Information on the film "Influenza 1918" as well as special features, a timeline, maps, people and events featured in the film, and a teacher's guide.

Global Polio Eradication Initiative
The World Health Organization's site of the largest ever disease eradication initiative. Provides background, global status, national immunization days, downloads, news, and a photo gallery.

Worse than the Bubonic Plague?
Information and statistics on the Bubonic Plague and the influenza of 1918-1919. Describes the spread, death rates, and method of transmission of these diseases.

John Snow - Historical Giant in Epidemiology
Devoted to the life and times of Dr. John Snow (1813-1858), a legendary figure in the history of public health, epidemiology and anesthesiology. Includes information on his work on Cholera, his importance, a biography, and his writings. Also has links to the UCLA department of epidemiology.

Interactive Sites for Students

Infection, Detection, Prevention
An interactive, fun family magazine, developed by the American Museum of Natural History for Epidemic! that helps students, families, and teachers understand what causes infectious diseases and what they can do to prevent it.

Digital Learning for Microbial Ecology Learning for Microbial Ecology
Features a "Microbe of the Week," a "Microbe Zoo," and a virtual space where visitors can view images and descriptions of microscopic organisms and the habitats in which they live.

Life Science Safari
An interactive lesson on the cell structure and classification of bacteria, protists, fungi, plants, and animals. Intended for middle school students.

Epidemic! A Fred Friendly Seminar
For students, teachers, and families, this site offers information on infectious diseases, lessons on stopping epidemics, a panel discussion by national experts on infectious diseases, among other resources.

Kids Page
A kids (K-12) site from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. There are games for young kids, cool facts, curriculum ideas, teacher resources as well as information on classroom and school programs.

Fight Bac!
For students and teachers, provides educational program materials. Teaches kids the importance of safe food practices. Contains classroom materials.

PestWeb
Immerse yourself in a virtual lab. Identify deadly pathogens, probe heart patients, dissect a leach, and assay antibodies. Explore animations, a virtual museum, and more.

BioInteractive - Virtual Labs
Insects and Other Organisms section provides the following information for each insect or organism: diseases and their control, entomology, fun, general information, and solutions. Photographs are also available. Education resources include links to books, magazines, videos, insect collections, and taxonomy.

StudyWeb
See Science, then under Medicine. Topics range from infectious diseases, health topics, medical disorders and other diseases and conditions. Each topic offers additional links for research. Grade level appropriateness, K-12, is indicated for each site. Contains teacher's resources.

A Career in Public Health or Medicine?

Association of Schools of Public Health
The national association of all accredited schools of public health. Includes listing of all schools, background on the field of public health, and how to pursue careers in infectious or chronic disease epidemiology, population health, environmental health, health services administration, health policy and management, biostatistics, and other areas.

Association of American Medical Colleges
The national association of accredited medical schools. Includes information on considering a career in medicine, requirements for entry into medical schools, resources for applicants, and list of medical schools in the country.

Teaching Resources

U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases
A center of the CDC whose mission is to prevent infectious diseases in the U.S. and the world. See Teachers' Tools section for K-12 curricula, including Virus Encounters and Neato Mosquito. Also has infectious disease information by various division and programs such as parasitic diseases, viral and rickettsial diseases, bacterial and mycotic diseases, and AIDS, STD, and TB laboratory research.

EXCITE Resources
EXCITE was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to educate students about the causes and prevention of disease and injury while honing their research and analytical skills. Targeted to middle and high school classes, but may be adapted to all ages. Contains links to science, health, statistics, and historical background sites. Teacher's background material and teaching aids available.

Federal Resources for Educational Excellence
Contains hundreds of education resources supported by government agencies. Includes a student resources page. Type in epidemiology, disease, or epidemics in the search engine to learn more.

Access Excellence
A site for health and bioscience teachers and learners. Access Excellence is a national educational program, part of the developing National Health Museum, that provides high school biology and life science teachers latest information on topics such as health and science news, classroom ideas, a visual library, biotech, and activities exchange.

HealthTeacher.com
Contains comprehensive, sequential K-12 curriculum for health education. There are almost 300 lesson guides that meet National Health Education Standards and provide skills based assessment methods. May be viewed by content or grade.

Local Focus on Infectious Diseases:
What to Know and Where to Go

San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency
The County's Health and Human Services Agency provides a variety of health, social and supportive services for children, families, elderly, veterans, and other populations. Look under Health Information for descriptions of common diseases, symptoms, who is affected, how they're spread, treatment, and prevention tips in Spanish and English. Also includes detailed information on sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, immunizations, and other areas. Click on Care Services for a listing of primary care service sites, locations, and hours.

San Diego County Department of Environmental Health
The Department of Environmental Health's (DEH) role in preventing infectious diseases is to protect and ensure safety of recreational water, conduct inspections of food establishments and vendors for safe food handling and preparation practices, survey and control vectors that cause disease or distress, manage the effects of water pollution. DEH also establishes and enforces standards for sanitation at pet shops and establishes operational and structural standards for tattoo shops and massage parlors. Check out Frequently Asked Questions. Click on Online Services on the top menu bar to go to find out beach and bay status reports, conduct a search on when last food safety inspection was conducted at food establishments, report complaints for discharges into stormdrains and streets, and find about more about vector surveillance and control program.

California Department of Health Services, Preventive Services
Learn about state efforts to prevent disease and premature death and to enhance the health and well-being of all Californians. Look under Division of Communicable Disease Control and then under Branches and Programs for current statewide efforts regarding bioterrorism, disease investigations, immunizations, border health, sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, and other areas. Other highlights of Prevention Services include information on AIDS, drinking water safety, environmental health, and food and drug safety.