Deck 9: Principles of Infectious Disease and Epidemiology

Question 1

Why are epidemiological measures useful?

A) They specify how much protection you need if coming into contact with someone that has the disease.
B) They help to track down patient zero.
C) They allow physicians to estimate when a patient can return to work.
D) They allow the CDC to profile those most likely to need quarantine.
E) They provide insight as to where public health campaigns or prevention efforts may be needed most.

Answer 1

They provide insight as to where public health campaigns or prevention efforts may be needed most.

Question 2

What is a pandemic?

A) an infection where the host does not have signs or symptoms
B) isolated infections in a particular population
C) an infection routinely detected in a population or region
D) a widespread disease outbreak that spreads to numerous countries during a specific time frame
E) a widespread disease outbreak in a particular region during a specific time frame

Answer 2

a widespread disease outbreak that spreads to numerous countries during a specific time frame

Question 3

If you had to choose to be either a chronic carrier or an asymptomatic carrier, which would you choose any why?

A) asymptomatic carrier because I wouldn't experience any symptoms
B) chronic carrier because I would only spread the infection when having symptoms
C) asymptomatic carrier because after the initial symptomatic infection I would only experience symptoms from time to time
D) chronic carrier because I would be infected but never show signs or symptoms
E) asymptomatic carrier because I wouldn't spread the infection

Answer 3

asymptomatic carrier because I wouldn't experience any symptoms

Question 4

It is called a vector when the vector organism has a role in the pathogen's life cycle.

A) fomite
B) vehicle
C) zoonotic
D) mechanical
E) biological

Question 5

When is knowing the host and environmental factors that lead to a disease more important to saving lives than knowing the etiological causative agent?

A) when the disease is spread through sexual contact
B) when specific health factors within a person's control are particularly risky
C) when the host range is very large
D) when the source of infection is a particular geographical location
E) when there is no cure for the disease

Question 6

What is the definition of a true pathogen?

A) must cause diarrhea, vomiting, and fever in the patient
B) causes disease within one week of infecting the patient
C) can only be a bacteria or a virus
D) does not require a weakened host to cause disease
E) needs to passed from one person to the next

Question 7

Which of the following would not be important when evaluating measures of frequency?

A) incidence rate
B) how long the infection lasts
C) prevalence rate
D) how the population is defined
E) factors that may be linked to cases of the disease

Question 8

Of the following goals listed, which are the two goals of epidemiology?
I. isolate the infectious pathogen for study and vaccine creation
II. describe the nature, cause, and extent of new or existing diseases in populations
III. identify patient zero and how the initial infection occurred
IV. intervene to protect and improve health in populations
V. distribute vaccines so that future outbreaks do not occur

A) I and II
B) III and V
C) II and IV
D) I and III
E) III and IV

Question 9

Which of the following would not be important when evaluating measures of association?

A) number of sexual partners
B) geographical area
C) ethnicity
D) duration of the disease
E) age

Question 10

How is a reemerging pathogen different from an emerging pathogen?

A) A reemerging pathogen is an infectious helminth that was detected in one location of the body but receded and emerged from a second location.
B) A reemerging pathogen is an infectious bacterial infection that manifests once every few months but goes away without treatment and only blisters the skin in another few months.
C) A reemerging pathogen is an infectious agent that was identified previously in one location but is now emerging in a new separate location.
D) A reemerging pathogen is an infectious agent that went away when the patient was taking antibiotics but quickly returned when the patient stopped taking the antibiotics.
E) A reemerging pathogen is an infectious agent that was under control due to prevention or treatment strategies and is now resurfacing.

Question 11

Which of the following is an endogenous source of infection?

A) contact with another person
B) contaminated medical equipment
C) zoonotic disease
D) contaminated food
E) bacteria from the skin entering a surgical incision

Question 12

Which of the following is not a goal of the public health system?

A) prevents
B) works to reduce health problems in the community
C) designs treatments, cures, or vaccines
D) investigates
E) diagnoses

Question 13

Which of the following infectious disease transmission modes is not correctly paired with an example?

A) breast milk: HIV
B) touching: cat- scratch fever
C) windborne: cholera
D) swimming: swimmer's ear
E) flea bite: Plague

Question 14

What are the three factors of the epidemiological triangle?

A) time from exposure to symptoms, access to transportation, quality of hospitals
B) pathogen type, host health, and geographic overlap
C) vaccine use, disinfectant use, and hand- washing policy
D) survivability, length of acute phase, cultural factors
E) environmental factors, etiological agent, and host factors

Question 15

Which of the following is an indirect infectious disease transmission mode?

A) person to person
B) vehicle
C) animal
D) environment
E) vertical

Question 16

When is quarantine an effective tool to limit disease?

A) when the population it too dense or poor for vector control to work
B) when there is not enough funding for public education campaigns
C) when the disease has a short incubation time
D) when the disease has a long incubation time
E) when the population is too spread out for vector control to be cost effective

Question 17

Endemic infections

A) are infections that are life threatening if not treated in a timely manner.
B) are infections that have only been recorded within the past 1,000 years and not before.
C) are infections that are believed to be cured and wiped out by the year 2050.
D) are isolated infections in a particular population.
E) are routinely detected in a population or region.

Question 18

Why are Koch's postulates important to microbiology?

A) They enable us to characterize the species of the infectious disease whether it is a bacteria, virus, or fungi.
B) They provide a way to select the most effective concentration of antibiotic to use for a patient.
C) They demonstrate the preferred route of infection for a particular disease.
D) They allowed us to identify the causative pathogens of many infectious diseases.
E) They explain how a particular disease produces specified signs in a patient.

Question 19

Which of the following pathogen agents is multicellular?

A) helminths
B) protozoans
C) prions
D) bacteria
E) viruses

Question 20

What is the order of the five stages of infectious disease?

A) prodromal phase, acute phase, incubation period, period of decline, convalescent phase
B) incubation period, acute phase, prodromal phase, convalescent phase, period of decline
C) incubation period, prodromal phase, acute phase, period of decline, convalescent phase
D) acute phase, incubation period, prodromal phase, convalescent phase, period of decline
E) acute phase, prodromal phase, incubation period, convalescent phase, period of decline

Question 21

If a population contains 800 individuals and documents 400 cases of measles within the population, what is the prevalence rate?

A) 30%
B) 50%
C) 60%
D) 40%
E) 80%

Question 22

Which of the following is not a reason why healthcare settings are hot zones for antibiotic- resistant pathogens?

A) Air is recirculated from patient isolation rooms to the rest of the hospital.
B) Healthcare staff caring for a high number of patients may wrongly assume that glove use can replace hand hygiene.
C) Caregivers may be overly fatigued and not wash their hands properly.
D) There is extensive antibiotic use.
E) There is an abundance of susceptible hosts.

Question 23

What is the definition of morbidity?

A) the number of deaths during a specific time period
B) existence of disease
C) death
D) deaths due to sexually transmitted infections during a specific time period
E) the number of infections during a specific time period

Question 24

Which of the following key HAI's is not associated with its correct cause?

A) E. coli: Urinary tract infections and bacteremia
B) Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Causes infections in burn patients, catheterized patients, and people on ventilators
C) Clostridium difficile: Causes acute illness that is followed by a high risk of chronic infection that causes severe liver damage and increases the risk of liver cancer
D) Vancomycin- resistant enterococci (VRE): Causes wound, bloodstream, and urinary tract infections
E) Methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): Causes dangerous infections of surgical wounds, bedsores, and central lines; primarily transmitted by touch

Question 25

The acute phase of an infectious disease, when the pathogen levels are the highest, is the most contagious stage of any pathogen.

Question 26

Which of the following is an example of a rate?

A) 1 in 4 people currently has a sexually transmitted disease.
B) 80 percent of women with gonorrhea do not have symptoms.
C) About 4,932 people become infected with HIV each day.
D) 6 out of 10 deaths due to stroke are in women.
E) In the United States, in people age 65 and older, there are 0.77 male/female.

Question 27

What is the definition of eradication of an infectious disease?

A) Ten or more developed countries have gone ten years without reporting one case.
B) There are no longer any cases of the microbe anywhere in the world for three consecutive years.
C) The patient no longer shows any symptoms.
D) There are no longer any cases of the microbe in the country.
E) The patient has a zero blood count for the infectious microbe.

Question 28

Which of the following is not a reason(s) that we see an increased rate of disease emergence?

A) decreased water quality
B) climate change
C) changes in sociocultural practices (such as injectable illicit drugs, widespread global travel, and increased food processing and handling)
D) deforestation and urbanization
E) population crowding

Question 29

Chronic diseases have a rapid onset and progression.

Question 30

Which of the following is an example of analytical epidemiology?

A) descriptive studies
B) case reports
C) correlation studies
D) cross- sectional studies
E) observational studies

Question 31

Which of the following factors would make eradication of a disease harder?

A) does not cause latent infections
B) easily identifiable
C) treatable or preventable
D) only humans transmit and catch
E) longer incubation period

Question 32

Which of the following is not a way that ethical issues emerge in epidemiology?

A) new technologies or studies that provide more information or better insight
B) new laws are passed
C) more aware of old threats or diseases
D) more visible infections noticeable in the community
E) new threats or diseases

Question 33

The source of an infectious agent is the animate or inanimate habitat where the pathogen is naturally found.

Question 34

Zoonotic diseases are spread from animals to humans.

Question 35

What is herd immunity?

A) the protection offered to you by the size of your country, as it limits potential outside contact with an infected individual
B) at least 25 percent of the population needs to be immune before those too poor to receive the vaccination can be protected
C) small communities protect their children from being exposed to outside pathogens by limiting the contact their children have with outside visitors or workers
D) the only protection available to those who are unable to receive immunizations due to medical reasons
E) the only protection available to those who choose not to receive immunizations due to religious belief

Question 36

Which of the following does not help to limit the spread of healthcare- acquired infections?

A) dedicating equipment for a single patient's use whenever possible (a blood pressure cuff)
B) consistent use of personal protective wear (gloves, masks, and gowns)
C) environmental sanitization and equipment sterilization
D) proper hand washing even if gloves will be worn
E) transporting patients as often as possible to keep the healthy patients away from the sick patients

Question 37

Which of the following is not a reason why healthcare epidemiology is essential to quality care?

A) Healthcare- acquired infections add an extra $35 billion dollars per year to U.S. healthcare costs.
B) Hospitals have been inadvertent sources of infection for thousands of years.
C) Healthcare- acquired infection incidence increased by almost 40 percent from 1975 to 1995.
D) Healthcare staff are dedicated to helping patients heal.
E) About 75,000 people die from healthcare- acquired infections every year.

Question 38

The epidemiological triangle is equally useful for describing noninfectious diseases as it is infectious diseases.

Question 39

When a healthcare provider diagnoses a reportable disease, who do they document the case with?

A) White House Epidemiology Center
B) CDC national database
C) local public health authority
D) World Health Organization
E) FDA national database

Question 40

What are emerging diseases?

A) were previously under control, but are now showing increased incidence
B) were previously found only in other mammals but are now starting to infect humans
C) diseases that were present hundreds of years ago but due to increased contact with fossils are now becoming active again
D) new or newly identified infections in a population
E) infections that were central to one location but are now beginning to spread for unknown reasons

Question 41

Explain how and why healthcare epidemiology programs are essential to quality care.

Question 42

When two things happen at the same time, that correlation indicates one factor is causing the other.

Question 43

It is legal for the CDC to quarantine any person entering or already in the United States who may have an infectious disease that is deemed quarantinable.

Question 44

Name the five limitations of Koch's postulates.

Question 45

It can be challenging to accurately determine incidence rate for diseases with high percentages of asymptomatic cases or when a pathogen mutates to become more infective and/or virulent.

Question 46

Hospital microbiologists routinely test isolated pathogens for their susceptibility to commonly prescribed drugs in order to share these susceptibility rates with the healthcare team to help them make informed decisions about antibiotic therapies.

Question 47

What is the difference between reportable diseases and notifiable diseases?