The paper is to follow APA format guidelines and the Purdue Online Writing Lab is an excellent resource: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html. Font is to be 11 pt Arial, or 12 pt Times New Roman.
You should aim for a minimum 5-6 pages for the main body of the paper. A minimum of 4 sources is required and one of them may be your textbook. Online resources such as the websites for CDC and WHO may be used, but refrain from citing Wikipedia as it is not considered a reliable source in this instance. However, Wikipedia may prove useful as a means to find additional resources for your paper by browsing the references and further reading listed at the bottom of the page for whatever you are researching.
Your paper will consist of the following sections as detailed in the outline below:
I. Title page
II. Abstract: A one paragraph summary of the key points of your paper and list of keywords
III. Main body
a. Introduction: general background information; discovery of disease and/or etiologic agent
b. Organism characteristics: organism type, structure, culture methods if applicable and any identification methods
c. Disease characteristics: signs and symptoms, duration, etc.
d. Epidemiological data: geographic distribution, mechanisms of transmission, prevalence and incidence
e. Diagnosis of disease: provide details of methods (e.g., culture, PCR, antigen detection, immunoassay, etc.)
f. Prevention: what measure may be taken to reduce disease probability (avoidance, vaccination, etc.)
g. Treatment: provide details of mechanims such as antimicrobial action, if applicable; treatment duration and patient prognosis
h. Current research (optional): provide brief description of research findings relevant to your topic
i. Conclusion
IV. Appendix: Maximum of two pages featuring color, high resolution images with figure numbers and description for each. All figures must be referenced in the body of the paper
V. Bibliography