3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

Explores past, present, and future ethical, legal, social and policy issues at the intersection of infectious disease and genomics. Due to the social nature of contagion, infectious disease challenges individualistic assumptions in bioethical models with public health dilemmas requiring attention to the relationships and interactions between hosts, vectors, pathogens, and environments. Focuses on the potential ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging genomic science and technology for infectious disease control. Each class focuses on a specific type of infectious disease highlighting different notions of disease causation and mode of transmission. Explores in three related contexts: research, clinical practice and public health. Addresses the enduring bioethical concerns about social responsibility, stigma, and the challenge of balancing individual interests and protections against risks of harms to others and to public health.