• Analitical Program
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Analitical Program

UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY
"CAROL DAVILA" BUCHAREST

Analytical program of the lectures and the practical classes in Virology
GENERAL MEDICINE

Lectures

1. Viral structure. Viral taxonomy
2. Virus replication strategies; Identification of virus prototypes associated with different DNA and        RNA  virus replication schemes
3. Viral pathogenesis; viral persistence; viral genetics   
4. Immunity in viral infections; humoral and cellular immune response, MHC role in viral infections; viral strategies of eluding the immune response
5. Interferons: mechanism of action and biological effects.
6. Viral Vaccines: modalities of obtaining the vaccines, viral attenuated vaccines, inactivated vaccines, advantages and disadvantages; Molecular approaches to the development of viral vaccines:new methods: subunit vaccines, anti-idiotype and DNA vaccines.
7. Picornaviridae: poliomyelitis viruses. Differences between attenuated and virulent polio strains, Anti-polio vaccines. Coxsackie, ECHO and other enteroviruses; rhinoviruses; laboratory diagnostic.
8. Orthomixoviridae: influenza viruses; pandemic and epidemic strains. Laboratory diagnosis. Variability of influenza viruses; vaccines. Avian flu.
9. Paramixoviridae: Structure and properties of measles, mumps, Para influenza and respiratory syncitial viruses.
10. Herpesviridae: The structure of herpes viruses. Herpes simplex types 1 and 2, varicella-zoster virus, Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus; Human herpes virus 8 and other herpes types specific antiviral for herpes viruses infections.
11. Rotaviruses and other agents of viral gastroenteritis
12. Hepatitis viruses (1): Hepatitis A, B, Laboratory diagnosis of acute viral hepatitis. Chronic hepatitis B. Markers for monitoring the evolution and treatment of chronic hepatitis.
13. Hepatitis viruses (2): Hepatitis C, Delta, E. Chronicle hepatitis C. Recently identified. hepatitis viruses. Hepatic carcinoma of viral etiology.
14. Retroviruses. Oncoviruses and lentiviruses. The mechanism of genetic transfer with retroviruses.
15. HIV/AIDS. Virus Structure. Replicative cycle- receptors and co receptors. Mechanisms of variability. Natural clinical evolution of HIV/AIDS infection in adults and children. Rapid progressors and long term survivors. Laboratory diagnosis. Antiretrovirals. Reverstranscriptase inhibitors; protease inhibitors. Combined therapy. Mechanisms of antiretroviral resistance. Immunotherapy in HIV infection. The effect of antiretroviral in other viral infections.
16. Oncogenic viruses. Oncogenes, antioncogenes, tumor suppressor genes. Mechanism of viral oncogenesis DNA cancer viruses (polyoma, herpes, papilloma, hepatitis, adenovirus). RNA cancer viruses (retroviruses). Possibilities of vaccination in carcinoma of viral etiology.
17. Emergent viral infections: The reasons for emergence. Arboviruses: Flavi si Bunyaviridae Arbovirus encephalitis, febrile and hemorrhagic disease. Rodent borne hemorrhagic fever, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Viral hemorrhagic fever: Filoviridae; SARS corona virus, avian influenza. Prion diseases: Kuru, 
    Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, preventing viral infections with bioterrorist potential.

Practical Classes

1. Viral diagnosis algorithm. Choosing the samples for viral diagnosis Collecting, labeling and transport of biological samples. Good laboratory practice. Substrates for viral isolation: embryonated chicken eggs, laboratory animals, cell cultures
2. Cell cultures: Classification of cell cultures. Protocol for maintaining a stationary cell culture; Protocol for viral isolation on cell cultures. Cytopatic effects.
3. Laboratory diagnosis in viral infections of CNS: Frequent ethiology (enteroviruses, herpesviruses, arboviruses). Slow progressing neurologic viral infections.  Viral Isolation. Virus neutralization assay
4.  Virusneutralisation.
5. Laboratory diagnosis in viral exantema.  Frequent ethiology (measles, rubella, VZV, enteroviruses).Viral Isolation. Identification. Immunofluorescence tests.
6. Laboratory diagnosis in viral respiratory infections: Frequent ethiology (influenzaviruses, parainfluenza viruses, RSV, adenoviruses). Viral isolation Haemagglutination test and haemagglutination inhibition tests.Rapid diagnosis. Serologic diagnosis
7. Laboratory diagnosis in sexual transmitted diseases. Frequent etiology Herpesviruses, Human papilomaviruses.
8. Laboratory diagnosis of viral hepatitis:  Etiology; HAV;HBV;HCV; HDV. Serologic markers. ELISA, RIBA Diagnosis of chronic hepatitis. Infectivity markers.
9. Laboratory diagnosis of HIV/AIDS: Serological techniques for screening and confirmation: ELISA, Western Blot (WB). P24 antigen evaluation. Diagnosis of HIv infections in newborns from sero-positive mothers
10. Molecular assays for viral genome detection. RNA extraction from viral isolate Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Agarose Gel Electrophoresis of the PCR products. Viral load detection.  Applications in diagnosis and monitoring of HIV, HBV and HCV infections.Treatment monitoring .