Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
The department provides students with the latest theoretical knowledge and practical skills in etiological diagnostics, antimicrobial treatment, prophylaxis and prevention of bacterial, viral and fungal infections. including rare diseases. At the same time, students are presented with a more comprehensive and consistent system of anti-infection measures for designing protective systems for animal populations from infectious diseases. At the beginning of FVM, the disciplines of the current institute were taught separately. As part of the reconstruction of the school building and the establishment of institutes and clinics, the institute was divided into two departments at the end of 1990. The Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Department of Epizootiology were re-established. The last change was the reorganization in 2014, also based on the results of the international evaluation. On the proposal of the dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the departments of microbiology and infectious diseases were merged into a single Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology. The department is part of the Pathobiology Section and is divided into the Department of Bacteriology, the Department of Virology, the Department of Immunology, the Department of Infectious Animal Diseases and the Department of General Epizootiology. The teaching staff of the department has five professors, two associate professors, eight senior lecturers and three full-time or part-time assistants.
Teaching
The individual disciplines of the department are taught almost throughout the whole duration of the study. It starts in the 3rd semester and is finished with a component rigorous examination in infectious diseases and legislation in the last year of study. Teaching in the master’s degree programmes of both veterinary faculties includes the courses in Microbiology, Immunology, General Epizootiology and Infectious Animal Diseases, and is carried out in both Czech and English. In addition, the department teaches courses in animal diseases for bachelor’s degree programmes provided at FVHE (Food Safety and Quality, Animal Protection and Welfare, Food Safety and Quality in Food Science).
In addition to compulsory courses, restricted elective or elective courses are also provided. These are, e.g., the courses of Clinical Microbiology, Clinical Immunology, Molecular Biology, Veterinary Medicine in Emergencies, Selected Diseases of Dogs and Cats, Advanced Techniques in the Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases, etc. Textbooks containing the required professional topics are available and gradually updated. A number of instructional films produced by the department or obtained by purchasing from abroad are used to demonstrate diseases and elimination procedures that cannot be demonstrated in practice. The department also provides an accredited doctoral degree programme in Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, and Immunology, both in Czech and English. The academic staff of the department give lectures in different forms of education, supervise the candidates in the process of writing their attestation papers, and draw up expert opinion reports. Specialist activities regarding veterinary practice are focused primarily on advisory services in disease control, protection of animal stocks from the introduction of infectious diseases, development of vaccination programmes, and practical application of research outcomes. The academic staff of the department work as lecturers at the University of the Third Age.
Research
The research activity is drawn from the state of livestock health on Czech farms and focuses on the study of the properties of selected pathogens and the development of diagnostic methods. The staff of the institute is actively involved in winning specialized scientific projects within the GA CR, MIT, MEYS, NAZV, IGA MA, CEITEC VETUNI, etc. Young researchers use the resources provided by IGA VETUNI Brno for their professional development. At the Bacteriology Department, research activities are concentrated aetiology and ecology of selected species of bacteria, including other properties related to their virulence and pathogenicity. The Virology Department has long focused on lentiviral infections in livestock, herpes infections and other viral infections in pigs. Attention is also paid to influenza infections. Recently, the department has been significantly involved in the monitoring and research of a new strain of the virus causing viral haemorrhagic disease in rabbits, the so-called rabbit plague. As part of the research activity, attention is also paid to zoonoses.
The department organizes symposia and seminars for the specialist public at the national (Lukeš Day) and international levels.
Facilities, instrumentation, and equipment
The department is located in buildings No. 28 and 32. In building 32, the laboratory facilities for the needs of virology and microbiology were extensively reconstructed and modernized, and a new laboratory for working with GMOs was established there. A central sanitary facility for the department’s staff was built in the basement. In building 28, the basement was reconstructed. The Department of Immunology was established in the new premises, where there are offices and teaching rooms, a virology laboratory, a laboratory for working with mycoplasmas and a special laboratory for working with highly infectious material (BSL-3). The department also uses building No. 11 after reconstruction, where there are offices, laboratories, and accredited animal quarters and isolation stables. There are seminar rooms available for teaching, equipped with computer and audio-visual technology. The Department of Virology has recombinant technologies and advanced molecular-microbiological procedures. The Department of Bacteriology has facilities for the preparation of bacteriological soils, receipt and processing of clinical samples and section material, isolation and identification of bacterial cultures using classical methods and MALDI TOF mass spectrometry. The department carries out antimicrobial susceptibility tests and typing of bacterial cultures using molecular biology methods (PCR, RT-PCR). Due to the lack of instrumentation after the reconstruction of the premises, the Department of Immunology focuses on the utilisation of serological methods.
Prominent professors in the history of the department
Prof. MVDr. František Ševčík – the founder of the department, a prominent expert in microbiology, head between 1919 and 1930
Prof. MVDr. Richard Harnach, D.Sc. – a representative of microbiology, head of the department between 1952 and 1960
Prof. MVDr. Ludvík Černý, CSc. – a prominent immunologist, excellent researcher, head of the department between 1960 and 1970
Prof. MVDr. Vladimír Celer, D.Sc. Snr. – a prominent virologist, head of the department between 1990 and 1998, worked abroad for many years
Prof. MVDr. Jiří Smola, CSc. – a prominent bacteriologist, head of the department between 1998 and 2010, worked in specialist international companies, his cooperation with breeders in disease prevention in pig stocks is also important.
Prof. MVDr. Alois Čížek, CSc. – a prominent bacteriologist, long-term teacher, researcher, works in expert bodies assessing laboratory standards (CIA)
Prof. MVDr. Vladimír Celer, PhD. Jr. – a prominent virologist focusing on molecular biological methods, a specialist in infectious diseases of pigs especially PRRS and circovirus diseases, parvovirus in dogs and cats, and recombinant antibodies, worked abroad as chairman of the International Commission in virology.
Prof. MVDr. Antonín Klobouk, D.Sc. – the head of the Buiatrics Clinic between 1919 and 1939 and between 1945 and 1956, and the Department of Infectious Diseases between 1952 and 1961, discovered the swine polio virus and developed a vaccine against the disease.
Prof. MVDr. Jaroslav Dražan, CSc. – the head of the department between 1962 and 1972, focused on cooperation with breeders, was involved in the development of swine fever vaccine, rector of the university between 1975 and 1987
Prof. MVDr. Karel Hejlíček, D.Sc. – a prominent personality infectious diseases of animals, especially bacterial, namely mycobacterial infections, brucellosis, toxoplasmosis, long-time head of the department between 1972 and 1990
Prof. MVDr. Zdeněk Pospíšil, D.Sc. – a representative of infectious animal diseases, head of the department between 1990 and 2003, expert on BSE, bird flu, coronavirus infections, worked extensively as a lecturer at other universities.
Prof. MVDr. František Treml, CSc. – a current representative of infectious animal diseases and epizootiology, head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Epizootiology since 2003, specialist in leptospirosis, tularemia, and other diseases with natural focal point, has long been the chairman of the self-governing body of the university.
Prof. MVDr. František Treml, CSc.
