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Campus Outbreak!
Modeling Seasonal Influenza
Co Authors: |
Marcia Harrison-Pitaniello Jessica L. Shiltz Robert E. Hughes Roger L. Estep Anna B. Mummert |
Abstract: | This PowerPoint-driven case study follows the progress of three undergraduate students as they attempt to model the rapid spread of an influenza outbreak to determine whether their local newspaper's claim that "40% of the campus has the flu" is accurate. The case introduces epidemiological modeling using a base model for a seasonal influenza outbreak written in the NetLogo programmable modeling environment. In class, students develop tests for the various parameters of the model, run simulations, and evaluate the output. The students then explore the impact of influenza control strategies (vaccination, isolation, and antiviral medications), and finish with the question of whether the continuing outbreak on campus could be a pandemic. The case is written at a basic level for a lower-level undergraduate lecture-style class, but can be adapted to upper-level courses as well. The case was piloted in four different microbiology courses. The simulations stimulated active discussion and the content worked well, whether it was used in a pre-nursing microbiology or upper-level immunology class. |
Objectives: |
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Keywords: | Influenza; epidemiology; vaccine; antivirals; pandemic; flu; mathematical modeling; NetLogo; |
Topical Area: | N/A |
Educational Level: | Undergraduate lower division, Undergraduate upper division |
Formats: | PDF, PowerPoint |
Type/Method: | Clicker, Demonstration, Dilemma/Decision, Directed, Discussion |
Language: | English |
Subject Headings: | Biology (General) Epidemiology Microbiology Public Health Mathematics |
Date Posted: | 4/14/2016 |
Date Modified: | N/A |
Copyright: | Copyright held by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Please see our usage guidelines, which outline our policy concerning permissible reproduction of this work. |
Teaching Notes
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Supplemental Materials
The following brief animations (~1 minute, ~3MB) are linked from within the case study.


