Deck 15: Epidemiology and Nosocomial Infections

Question 1

The total number of people infected within a population at a given time is the

A) incidence
B) etiology
C) prevalence
D) morbidity

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A disease that breaks out in explosive proportions within a population is called

A) systemic
B) endemic
C) epidemic
D) pandemic

Answer 2

C

Question 3

An infection in which the signs and symptoms are not recognized readily because they are too mild:

A) carrier
B) chronic infection
C) acute disease
D) subclinical infection

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Worldwide spread of an infectious disease is called:

A) epidemic
B) endemic
C) sporadic
D) pandemic

Question 5

An index case

A) refers to the first case where an infectious disease kills a susceptible host
B) is necessary for a common source outbreak
C) defines a propagated epidemic
D) refers to the first case of an infectious disease outbreak to be identified

Question 6

The incidence rate of chicken pox in the United States

A) includes both old and newly diagnosed cases of disease
B) shows a pattern of pandemics
C) has been increasing for the last ten years
D) shows a seasonal variation

Question 7

An epidemiological study that tests a hypothesis is referred to as what type of study?

A) analytical
B) experimental
C) prospective
D) descriptive

Question 8

All of the following pertain to analytical studies except

A) control groups
B) retrospective studies
C) cause-and-effect relationships of disease occurrences
D) data on socioeconomic status

Question 9

The study of factors and mechanisms of disease frequency and spread within a population is called:

A) endemic
B) epidemic
C) epidemiology
D) etiology

Question 10

An epidemiologist that studies the number of cases of a disease,those segments of the population affected by a disease and the locations and time periods of a disease deals with what type of epidemiology?

A) analytical
B) descriptive
C) mode of transmission
D) chain of transmission

Question 11

Mortality rate is typically expressed as

A) number of illnesses from a disease per 100,000 people in the population per year
B) fraction of susceptible population that dies
C) speed at which a disease spreads through a population
D) number of deaths from a disease per 100,000 people in the population per year

Question 12

All of the following are important when considering a descriptive epidemiological study except

A) locations of disease cases
B) number of cases of a disease
C) time periods of disease cases
D) cause-and-effect relationships of disease cases

Question 13

A non-medicinal substance that has no effect on an individual,but the individual believes is a real treatment is known as a

A) index case
B) human reservoir
C) zoonosis
D) placebo

Question 14

An infectious disease that occurs in a random and unpredictable manner:

A) sporadic
B) pandemic
C) epidemic
D) propagated epidemic

Question 15

Which of following is a true statement about outbreaks?

A) an outbreak is considered vastly more serious than an epidemic
B) a propagated outbreak arises from contact with contaminated substances
C) in common-source outbreaks new cases are continually seen during time
D) outbreaks can be classified by the rate of increase of new cases

Question 16

The relative number of individuals affected by a particular disease during a set period of time within a given population is called

A) epidemic
B) nosocomial infections
C) notifiable disease
D) morbidity

Question 17

An epidemic that arises from horizontal transmission and where the number of cases slowly rises and falls is said to be of what type?

A) common-source outbreak
B) sporadic disease
C) pandemic
D) propagated epidemic

Question 18

A site where microorganisms can persist and thus maintain the ability to cause infection:

A) control group
B) portal of exit
C) reservoir
D) prospective

Question 19

Factors that increase the likelihood of an epidemic include all of the following except

A) overcrowding
B) migration
C) lack of vaccination
D) access to medical care

Question 20

An infectious disease in which transmission can occur during the incubation period of disease is considered to be:

A) chronic
B) acute
C) carrier
D) communicable

Question 21

Sexually transmitted diseases are most often spread by what mode of transmission?

A) direct contact
B) indirect contact
C) mechanical vectors
D) waterborne

Question 22

A retrospective analytical study

A) enrolls study participants before an epidemic occurs
B) considers factors that occur as an epidemic spreads
C) compares study participants that receive a drug with those that received an infection
D) may determine which factors are causal after the epidemic occurs

Question 23

Which of the following organizations sets the standards for international disease control?

A) NIH
B) CDC
C) WHO
D) PHS

Question 24

Fomites are

A) involved in direct vertical contact transmission
B) a cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in air
C) nonliving objects
D) mainly transmit dried mucus

Question 25

In herd immunity,typically 90% of the population is __________ while 10 % is __________ to an infectious disease.

A) susceptible, immune
B) immune, infected
C) infected, susceptible
D) immune, susceptible

Question 26

A common portal of entry for microorganisms is/are

A) milk
B) blood vessels
C) saliva ducts
D) mucous membranes

Question 27

Which of the following pertain to foodborne transmission of infectious agents?

A) poorly treated drinking water
B) microorganisms in dry air
C) properly refrigerated foods
D) unsanitary food preparation

Question 28

Which of the following are not examples of portals of exit?

A) urine and semen in males
B) droplets from sneezing or coughing
C) contact transmission
D) milk

Question 29

A zoonoses refers to an infectious disease that is transmitted

A) to a vertebrate animal from a human
B) from a water reservoir to a human
C) from a human to their pets
D) to a human from vertebrate animal

Question 30

Which of the following is not helpful in achieving control of disease transmission?

A) isolation of patient from general population
B) propagation of vectors
C) quarantine
D) immunization programs

Question 31

Reservoirs of infections include

A) humans
B) non-human vertebrate animals
C) water and soil
D) all of the above

Question 32

All of the following correspond to Yersinia pestis except

A) causes plague
B) has a 100% mortality when acquired through respiratory route
C) when acquired through the respiratory route causes bubonic plague
D) has a 50% mortality when acquired through a flea bite

Question 33

Pathogenic microorganisms that are spread from person to person by unwashed hands contaminated by fecal matter is an example of what mode of transmission?

A) fomites
B) indirect contact
C) droplet transmission
D) direct transmission

Question 34

Pathogenic microorganisms that enter the body via contaminated food or water typically infect

A) the respiratory system
B) the skin
C) only vertebrate animals
D) the digestive system

Question 35

Pathogens that are mainly transients from soil,water,plants or animals usually follow what mode of disease transmission?

A) airborne
B) foodborne
C) insectborne
D) mechanical vectorborne

Question 36

Which of the following microorganisms are found in soil,a nonliving reservoir,and in animal fecal matter used as fertilizer?

A) Yersinia pestis
B) Pseudomonas aeruginosa
C) Klebsiella pneumoniae
D) Clostridium tetani

Question 37

Congenital infectious diseases

A) cause infection when present on poorly cooked meat
B) cross the placenta from infected mother to fetus
C) enter the body via contaminated water
D) effect only the mother and not the fetus

Question 38

All of the following infectious diseases can occur in the fetus when the causative agents cross the placenta except

A) AIDS
B) syphilis
C) rubella
D) pneumonia

Question 39

Waterborne transmission of pathogens involving water contaminated by raw sewage is an example of what mode of transmission?

A) indirect fecal-oral
B) direct fecal-oral
C) vertical
D) droplet nuclei

Question 40

Transmission of pathogens from person to person via sneezing,coughing or by the affected individual speaking near a susceptible individual are examples of what mode of transmission?

A) vertical transmission
B) indirect contact transmission
C) direct fecal-oral transmission
D) droplet transmission

Question 41

Which of the following does not contribute to the acquisition of nosocomial infections?

A) catheters
B) surgical procedures
C) hospital equipment
D) proper sanitation

Question 42

Droplet nuclei

A) are non-living carriers that transmit infectious pathogens
B) is the first case in an outbreak
C) consists of dried mucous
D) are filtered out of hemodialysis equipment

Question 43

Why might it be worse to get an infection from someone in the hospital than from someone on a bus? Can you think of a reason why sometimes it might be better to be exposed to a microbe from a hospitalized patient than from someone on the bus?

Question 44

An opportunistic infection acquired from the individual's own microbiota is

A) nosocomial
B) reservoir
C) exogenous
D) endogenous

Question 45

All of the following prevent and control nosocomial infections except

A) infection control programs in hospitals
B) patient isolation procedures
C) proper education of staff
D) contamination in hemodialysis equipment

Question 46

Patients in a hospital setting are typically more susceptible to infections than individuals in the general population and are considered to be

A) compromised
B) vertical
C) horizontal
D) nosocomial

Question 47

Herd immunity

A) allows epidemiologists to predict when an epidemic will occur
B) should be low in order to achieve maximum protection
C) only applies to zoonoses that involve cattle
D) is greatly increased with a large-scale immunization program

Question 48

What makes a microbe a potential bioterroism weapon? Do you believe that bioterroism that targets humans or agriculture is more worrisome? Explain your answer.

Question 49

An infection acquired in the hospital or other medical facility is called:

A) zoonosis
B) notifiable
C) exogenous
D) nosocomial

Question 50

Notifiable diseases

A) are rare
B) include diseases that are potentially harmful
C) do not include animal infections
D) are all bacteria infections

Question 51

Bioterrorism

A) is a new phenomenon
B) agents all transmit from one human to other humans
C) agents are transmitted through mechanical vectors
D) none of the above

Question 52

Guidelines published by the CDC in order to reduce risk of disease are called:

A) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
B) Weekly Epidemiological Record
C) Notifiable Diseases List
D) Universal Precautions

Question 53

Suppose that you are the State Epidemiologist and you are notified about 10 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome where the stool samples suggest the agent is either E. coli or Salmonella. Describe the epidemiology of the microbes E. coli and Salmonella (associated with gastrointestinal diseases)including sources of the bacteria,mode of transmission,portals of entry and exit. If during your investigation the laboratory analyses find all of the isolates to be E. Coli but only two of the isolates to be genetically identical,would you consider this an outbreak? Explain your reasoning.