The need to observe an effective health management program is important to the success of an aquaculture project. This was demonstrated since the late 1980s until now where lethal diseases continue to devastate aquaculture projects in many countries. Since 1988, the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department (AQD) has launched classroom-based training courses on health management in aquaculture on a regular basis to meet the ever-growing demand for knowledge and skills.

What used to be taught purely in a classroom in a teacher-student face-to-face setting can now be taught in a distance-learning mode. It is convenient and practical for a learner to acquire knowledge and skills in health management at his own place and at his own time. A learner only has to have an Internet access to communicate with highly qualified teachers or with fellow learners. This new and exciting learning experience via information technology is made possible by the partnership of SEAFDEC AQD and the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) in developing this elearning course, AquaHealth Online, for short.

The course will cover up-to-date knowledge on fish and crustacean diseases, the causal organisms and the tried and tested methods of disease prevention and control.

The aim of this course is to introduce to you the principles of health management in aquaculture. By the end of the course you should be able to:

1. RECOGNIZE diseased shrimps and fish;
2. IDENTIFY the cause(s) of the disease;
3. EXPLAIN how a disease develops;
4. APPLY preventive and control measures to lessen the risks posed by the disease;
5. USE appropriate techniques for the preparation of samples for disease diagnosis.

The course is divided into twelve (12) modules:

Unit I – Introduction to Fish Health Management
Module 1: Impact of Disease Development in Aquaculture

Unit II – Infectious Diseases of Fish and Crustaceans
Module 2: Viral Diseases
Module 3: Bacterial Diseases
Module 4: Fungal Diseases
Module 5: Parasitic Diseases and Pests

Unit III – Non-infectious Diseases of Fish and Crustaceans
Module 6: Nutritional Diseases
Module 7: Environmental and other Non-infectious Diseases
Module 8: Harmful and Toxic Algae

Unit IV – Disease Diagnosis, Prevention, and Control of Fish and Crustaceans
Module 9: Histology as a Tool in Disease Diagnosis
Module 10: Serology and Molecular Techniques in Disease Diagnosis
Module 11: Immunity and Biological Methods of Disease Prevention and Control
Module 12: Physical, Environmental, and Chemical Methods of Disease Prevention and Control

Before you start the course, you should have:

1. Basic knowledge of written English
2. Competency in using computers. This includes starting the operating system, opening and saving files, using a mouse and CD-ROM, word processing, and browsing the internet.

You need to have access to a personal computer with the following minimum hardware and software components:

1. Pentium 90 MHz
2. Double speed CD-ROM drive
3. 20 MB of hard disk space
4. 28.8 kbps modem
5. Operating system: Windows 95
6. Microsoft Office 95 or equivalent
7. Speakers

Your final grade will be the sum of points earned as a result of your work in all the modules. There are activities (assignments) to be done and for which a certain number of points will be given. Participation in the various discussion boards will also be graded. There will be two written examinations, one after every 6 modules. Since the examinations comprise 60% of the whole course, you are advised to prepare for them thoroughly by studying the CD-ROM contents carefully.