Unit Synopsis
On completion of this unit, you will be able to identify and discuss the clinical significance of viruses, prions, fungi and parasites causing human disease. You will investigate the morphological characteristics, epidemiology, laboratory identification of these microorganisms and will be able to debate causes of mycological, parasitic and viral infectious diseases. You will discuss the life cycle of important parasites and their relevance to disease control. You will be able to interpret basic serological tests for the detection of human pathogenic viruses.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 3 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Prerequisites: MBIO19012 Microbiology AND BIOL12106 Molecular Biology OR BMSC12012 Molecular Cell Biology Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School |
Compulsory Residential School View Unit Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Practical Assessment | 0% |
| 2. Group Work | 20% |
| 3. Poster Sessions | 30% |
| 4. Examination | 50% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 2 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 50.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 11.76% response rate.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: SUTE
Students love the fact the lectures and tutorials are interactive. it draws student's attention.
Continue the current formats for the tutorial and lecture sessions.
The tutorial format was maintained.
Source: SUTE and self-reflection
Develop a study guide to aid with study
Develop a study guide to support student engagement and progress.
Study resources were added to assist students with their studies.
Source: SUTE
More visual learning aspects on Moodle.
Consider adding more visual learning aspects on Moodle site.
To be investigated for 2026 offering.
Source: SUTE
Improve structure and organisation of residential school material and manual.
Revise the residential school laboratory manual and look for lack of clarity and modify accordingly.
The laboratory manual was re-formatted and updated to improve readability and clarity.
Source: Self-reflection
Additional case studies for each organ infection would be useful.
Consider including at least one case study per tutorial session
Additional case studies were added to each week of content.
Source: SUTE data
Students have expressed a desire for interactive weekly quizzes to facilitate better retention of the the unit content and to assist with exam preparation.
The use of Kahoot! and H5P resources will be investigated for the 2026 offering.
In Progress
Source: Self Reflection
Provide instructions on how to access assignment feedback in Turnitin Feedback Studio to ensure that all students know how to access instructor feedback and comments, as the SUTE data indicates that some students are unable to access this information.
A document detailing how to access marker feedback and comments in Turnitin Feedback Studio will be uploaded to Moodle for the 2026 offering.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Discuss the clinical significance and laboratory detection of the principal viral/prion, fungal and parasitic pathogens of each of the human body systems
- Appraise the use of molecular, histological and culture-based techniques for identifying viruses/prions, fungi and parasites causing human disease
- Use practical skills to identify pathogenic viruses, fungi and parasites
- Evaluate and interpret different testing methods used in the detection and monitoring of infectious diseases caused by viruses/prions, fungi and parasites
- Apply appropriate quality control processes in the practice of virology, mycology and parasitology.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Practical Assessment | • | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Group Work | • | ||||
| 3 - Poster Sessions | • | • | |||
| 4 - Examination | • | • | • | ||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • | • |
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | ||||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |