Overview of Course

Welcome to the World of Parasites: protozoa, worms, bugs, vectors, and human and animal diseases! This course will take you in to the world of an amazing group of organisms that greatly impact the lives of the people you will visit during the voyage. We will not only cover the biological aspects of human parasites—their morphology, life cycles, epidemiology and evolution—but we will also bring the world’s oceans into the conversation with a discussion of marine mammal parasites. We will explore how new infectious diseases emerge, their subsequent distribution across the globe and the strategies parasites use to achieve transmission from host-to-host. You will learn about the unacceptable burden parasites impose on human and animal welfare, and why parasite control is particularly challenging. You will gain an understanding of why our shrinking world has fueled a renewed interest in the study of parasites and the diseases they cause. The Semester at Sea voyage will give students opportunities to witness the global impact of parasites on at-risk communities.