Introduction
Cootie - (KOO-tee) n. Epidemiological term referring to those organisms that are responsible for the spread of disease, contagion and epidemic. As in, "He's got cooties!" Eww.
Task
You have been assigned the unenviable task of researching and writing a portion of a field guide that is like no other. A field guide to the buggies, boogies and beasties that inhabit the body. It is a cootie field guide.
Each student will be assigned a different bacterium, arthropod or virus. As part of the project you will put together the pages of the field guide for the organism you've been assigned. The field guide is like no other in that it can be presented in the format chosen by your teacher.
You will need to create a three dimensional model of your disease organism. This should be a minimum of eight inches in length and constructed from materials of your choosing. The model should include structures on the outside of the virus or bacterium, as well as a look inside of the virus or bacterium with labels naming what you've built. If you have chosen to present an arthropod (insect) vector, external features are enough.
Good luck on your assignment!
You will need to research exactly what the organism looks like, where it is that you can come into contact with it, what type of disease it causes or can transmit and how that disease affects the human or animal it inhabits. Be sure to take a look at the checklist below so you've covered every aspect of the project you need to for a good grade.
Include this stuff:
- A picture of the organism.
- What disease does this organism cause?
- What are the symptoms of this disease?
- How does this organism reproduce?
- What animal or plant does it infest/infect?
- What body organs/systems are affected? Click here to see an image of the body you should incorporate into your work. Print a copy of the image and mark the site of the affliction, scan your new image into your project. Or do everything digitally if you have the software and the capabilities.
- How is the disease diagnosed? What tests are done to figure out what you've got?
- What is the prognosis for a person with this disease or infestation? A prognosis is your chance for survival. Will you survive the disease? Will you die? If you survive, how miserable will you be with whatever after effects the disease may leave you with?
- What treatment exists for the disease or infestation?
- How can you avoid contracting this disease?
- Where did you probably contract it? Click here for a map of the world you should incorporate into your work. Print a copy of the image and mark the site where you probably caught your cootie, scan your new image into your project. Or do everything digitally if you have the software.
- How transmissible is the disease/infestation?
- List of references you used. MUST include print sources as well as internet sites. Minimum of five sources, two print sources included.
- Cancer Web Online Medical Dictionary
- CDC - Health Topics A-Z
- CDC - Travelers' Health
- Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
- Discovery Health Network
- Division of Parasitic Diseases
- Emedicine.com - searchable for images, diseases, treatment, etc.
- Epidemic - The World of Infectious Disease
- Google for all your searching needs
- History of Diseases Weblist
- Identification & Diagnosis of Parasitic Diseases
- Johns Hopkins Top 10 List of Infectious Disease
- The Microbe Zoo
- National Center for Infectious Disease
- Parasite Image Library
- TDR homepage and TDR Image Library
Expect that your grade will be based on your presentation of the material that was necessary for this assignment. Students working on bacteria vs. virus vs. parasites should expect a slightly different approach toward some of the information presented because of reproduction by these creepy peeps. At all times and regardless of your presentation type, neatness counts! Take pride in your work. The cooties do.
