SUSINCHAIN

Course material

Insect diseases and pathology courses and workshops

Course material developed on insect diseases and actions to mitigate these. The course material developed in WP2 was shared in many educational institutions about Insect diseases and pathology courses and workshops.

Objective

Like all livestock species mass-reared for food and feed, insects face increasing risks from pathogens infecting individuals and affecting productivity. With this in mind, courses outlining risks and actions to mitigate those risks are becoming a vital part of the process to develop the industry and to train students and future employees of insect rearing and breeding facilities.

The development of such course material variated according to the intended recipient and occasion. However, general guidelines can be outlined and could include topics such as:

  • Introduction that includes context and historical perspective
  • Description of pathogens
    1. Terminology
    2. Morphology of the pathogens (could include practical)
    3. Disease symptoms (could include practical)
    4. Transmission pathways (could include practical)
    5. Risks
  • Control and treatment measures
    1. Hygienic measures
    2. Antibiotic and probiotic
  • Current research examples (could include colloquia)

Furthermore, the teaching material can be adapted depending on whether the focus is on one insect species or all insect species, since existing knowledge as well as insect biology will vary. The teaching organization will also vary according to the course length, and could include lab exercises as well as theoretical lectures if time permits.

Lab exercises are more time consuming and necessitate more resources but represent an opportunity to introduce students to new techniques and to provide them with a broader picture of infection mechanisms for example.

 

Development of course material

Over the last five years, lectures on insect pathology and diseases have been developed and improved based on new research developments and feedback. These lectures were taught on courses such as:

At UCPH:

Part of generic BSc course Animal Life and Function, for Animal Science students, University of Copenhagen year 2019, 2020 2021, 2022

Urban Food Systems in a Changing Climate, BSc course for Natural Resources, University of Copenhagen, 2022

At Wageningen:

Summer school in Wageningen “Insects as Food and Feed, from producing to consuming” 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023

PhD course in Wageningen “Insects as feed: Interdisciplinary approach to insects as sustainable feed components” 2022

For Insect Doctors:

PhD course “Concepts and terms in insect pathology and their placement in the general context of diseases and health. 2020

PhD course “Laboratory methods (diagnostics, bio-assays) in insect pathology across organisms” 2020.

At IFW 2022:

A special session on Health and biosecurity for insect producers were held IFW 2022 Québec City, 2022 June 15, 2022. We contributed with at talk “Insect health in production systems: Diagnosis, prevention and management” and a discussion with the audience.

OECD workshop, IFW 2022, Québec City, June 14, 2022 at 4th Insects to Feed the World Conference, Québec City, Canada, 2022.We contributed with at talk “Diseases of black soldier flies, research and diagnostic tools”