Focus: Students assume the roles of public health experts to
investigate the cause of a mystery disease. Major Concepts: A
major cause of the emergence of new diseases is environmental
change (for example, human encroachment into wilderness areas
and increased human traffic through previously isolated areas).
Objectives: After completing this activity, students will
Prerequisite Knowledge: Students should know that infectious
diseases are diseases that result from the presence of an
external agent or its products. Students should also know that
antibodies are produced by the body in response to invasion by a
foreign organism or molecule, and that the presence of
particular antibodies indicates a previous encounter with the
foreign agent that triggered their production. They should also
understand that purified antibodies to a particular organism or
molecule can be used to detect that organism or molecule in
tissue samples from victims of an infectious disease. Basic
Science-Public Health Connection: This acti