Deck 14: Infectious Diseases and the Immune System

Question 1

Why were the farmers immigrating from Ireland in the late 1800s particularly prone to disease?

A) They had not been previously exposed to other European and North American pathogens.
B) Traveling on a ship in general increases your risk of disease, as we see in present day outbreaks on cruise ships.
C) Farmers, in general, are not exposed to as many diseases as more urban inhabitants and so do not build up the same immunity.
D) They were poor, undernourished, and weakened in the first place, and the crowded, dirty conditions during their travels made matters worse.
E) They weren't, really. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The tale of cholera and the Irish immigrants took place in Quebec, Canada in 1847. Do you think it's likely that similar events occurred in the United States at the time?

A) There's really no way to know.
B) Yes, it seems likely since immigrants were coming in from that same Irish population under similar circumstances.
C) Yes, impoverished immigrants bring in these sorts of problems nearly everywhere they go.
D) No, there would have been better medical treatment available to these people in the United States at that time.
E) No, the United States probably did a better job quarantining immigrants under healthier circumstances.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

How does cholera typically kill a person so quickly?

A) The fever goes so high as the body tries to defend itself that the organs shut down.
B) The patient becomes so weak that they don't have the energy to breath.
C) Patients quickly dehydrate, and the lack of water and salt balance causes organ failure.
D) With the diarrhea and vomiting being so severe, the patients cannot eat and quickly starve.
E) It's not clear how this happens, because some people recover entirely.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Under what circumstances does cholera typically occur?

A) In situations of poor sanitation and crowding, as in underdeveloped countries and after natural disasters.
B) It is fairly common worldwide and outbreaks occur randomly.
C) When immigrants move to a new country, particularly if they're from an underdeveloped country.
D) Cholera outbreaks no longer occur.
E) Anywhere you have crowds of people living together.

Question 5

How is cholera treated?

A) Doctors try to make patients comfortable, but there is no real treatment.
B) Anti-cholera drugs like antibiotics are effective.
C) Rehydrating the patient in order to give the immune system time to work.
D) Anti-diarrheal medicines help.
E) Patients are generally just quarantined to help prevent the spread of the disease.

Question 6

John Snow was a doctor in London in the mid-1800s. What did he discover about cholera?

A) It was highly contagious.
B) It was caused by bacteria.
C) It was nearly always fatal
D) It was caused by contaminated water.
E) Outbreaks were especially common in downtown London.

Question 7

How did John Snow figure out the source of cholera in London?

A) He made a lucky guess.
B) He asked his patients where they'd gotten it.
C) He carefully mapped who got sick and who didn't, and determined that all the sick ones were getting water from the same source.
D) He experimented with turning off certain water sources, and it turned out to prevent the disease.
E) He examined the feces of the victims and saw the bacteria.

Question 8

Robert Koch discovered the pathogen that causes cholera. How?

A) He was looking for the bacteria that causes anthrax, and he happened to see another kind and was able to use it to infect mice with cholera.
B) He was visiting India and a doctor there told him about it.
C) He found it in the feces of cholera patients.
D) He examined the soil on farms in Ireland.
E) He became infected himself and found the bacteria in his blood.

Question 9

How does the cholera bacteria cause dehydration?

A) It secretes a toxin in the intestines that causes electrolytes to move out of intestinal cells, and water follows by osmosis and is lost.
B) It secretes a toxin in the intestines that prevents the formation of solid feces.
C) The bacteria lodges in the intestinal wall and pulls water out of the intestinal cells so it leaves the body.
D) The bacteria lodges in the intestinal wall and prevents the formation of solid feces.
E) The bacteria produces a toxin in the stomach and prevents proper food digestion.

Question 10

How do we know that it is a toxin that Vibrio produces that causes the symptoms of cholera?

A) There's nothing else that could cause symptoms so severe.
B) All pathogenic bacteria produce toxins; that's why they're pathogenic.
C) An antitoxin can be used to treat the disease.
D) Experiments with people ingesting the toxin itself result in the same symptoms.
E) Experiments with mice ingesting the toxin itself result in the same symptoms.

Question 11

From the bacteria's perspective, why is it helpful that it produce diarrhea in people?

A) Because that quickly kills the person
B) Because there is no real treatment for that
C) Because it makes the patient too unpleasant to be around
D) Because it gets the bacteria out of the person and, likely, into the next one
E) It's not helpful really. That's just what that toxin causes.

Question 12

Bacterial infections cause which of these diseases?

A) Gonorrhea, tuberculosis, strep throat, staph infections
B) Giardiasis, malaria, sleeping sickness
C) Athlete's foot, ring worm, yeast infections
D) Influenza, chicken pox, the common cold
E) Degenerative brain diseases

Question 13

Fungal infections cause which of these diseases?

A) Gonorrhea, tuberculosis, strep throat, staph infections
B) Giardiasis, malaria, sleeping sickness
C) Athlete's foot, ring worm, yeast infections
D) Influenza, chicken pox, the common cold
E) Degenerative brain diseases

Question 14

Protozoa cause which of these diseases?

A) Gonorrhea, tuberculosis, strep throat, staph infections
B) Giardiasis, malaria, sleeping sickness
C) Athlete's foot, ring worm, yeast infections
D) Influenza, chicken pox, the common cold
E) Degenerative brain diseases

Question 15

Viruses cause which of these diseases?

A) Gonorrhea, tuberculosis, strep throat, staph infections
B) Giardiasis, malaria, sleeping sickness
C) Athlete's foot, ring worm, yeast infections
D) Influenza, chicken pox, the common cold
E) Degenerative brain diseases

Question 16

Prions cause which of these diseases?

A) Gonorrhea, tuberculosis, strep throat, staph infections
B) Giardiasis, malaria, sleeping sickness
C) Athlete's foot, ring worm, yeast infections
D) Influenza, chicken pox, the common cold
E) Degenerative brain diseases

Question 17

If a harmful variety of bacteria is "allowed" to establish a foothold in the body, why does it often then quickly become a full blown infection?

A) The immune system can't easily "see" foreign bacteria.
B) The toxins they produce incapacitate the immune system.
C) They reproduce so quickly the population can get very big very fast.
D) If the bacteria is "allowed" to settle in the first place, the immune system must be weakened already.
E) Our own resident bacteria get recruited into the population once it's settled, and they help spread the infection.

Question 18

Why are viruses generally not considered to be living things?

A) They don't respire.
B) They have no metabolism.
C) They can't reproduce on their own.
D) They can't move on their own.
E) They don't have their own DNA.

Question 19

Where do prions come from?

A) There are prion-like particles in the brain normally, and when these become abnormal they can cause disease.
B) They are clumps which form from normal prion-like particles in the blood that travel to the brain.
C) They are introduced by infectious protozoa.
D) Mosquitoes.
E) Contaminated water.

Question 20

The digestive tract, reproductive tract, and respiratory tract all have a similar strategy for keeping pathogens out of the body. What is that strategy?

A) They all expel contaminated material.
B) They all are somewhat acidic.
C) They all have antimicrobial materials in them.
D) They all have mucous membranes which trap pathogens.
E) They are all mostly closed to the environment.

Question 21

Why is it actually fairly difficult to get a urinary tract infection?

A) Generally, the flowing urine keeps the tract free of bacteria.
B) Urine contains antimicrobial enzymes.
C) Urine is slightly acidic.
D) There are few bacteria which are capable of attaching to the tract wall.
E) The "good" bacteria in urine keeps any pathogens at bay.

Question 22

If you came into contact with Vibrio, what defense do you have to keep it from even getting to your intestines?

A) Your skin is an effective barrier against bacteria you come in contact with.
B) Antimicrobial enzymes in saliva
C) Acid in the stomach
D) Mucous membranes in the digestive and respiratory tract
E) All of the above

Question 23

If you get a splinter in your finger and the area gets red, swollen, and sore, what is happening?

A) A bacterial infection has defeated your immune system.
B) Your body is producing the inflammatory response to fight and contain any infection.
C) Your body is fighting an infection by concentrating somewhat acidic fluid in the area.
D) Bacteria are rapidly multiplying in the area.
E) By making the area painful, you immune system ensures you don't contaminate it further.

Question 24

Which of the following is one of the non-specific internal defense mechanisms your body has?

A) Macrophages
B) Natural killer cells
C) Interferons
D) Complement proteins
E) All of the above

Question 25

These locate and kill microbes by engulfing and eating them. Which is it?

A) Macrophages
B) Natural killer cells
C) Interferons
D) Complement proteins
E) B cells

Question 26

Which of the following kill virus-infected cells by penetrating their outer membranes, causing them to burst?

A) Macrophages
B) Natural killer cells
C) Interferons
D) Complement proteins
E) B cells

Question 27

There are chemical signals that call on non-infected cells to help fight a virus. Which are they?

A) Macrophages
B) Natural killer cells
C) Interferons
D) Complement proteins
E) B cells

Question 28

Which of the following coat the surface of bacteria making it easier for other defensive cells to eat it and poke holes in pathogens so they burst??

A) Macrophages
B) Natural killer cells
C) Interferons
D) Complement proteins
E) B cells

Question 29

There is antibody-mediated and cell-mediated specific immunity. Which type of cells are primarily involved in the antibody-mediated immune response?

A) T cells
B) Macrophages
C) B cells
D) Antigens
E) Complement proteins

Question 30

If you are invaded by a virus, which immune response will probably be needed?

A) Any non-specific immune response will work.
B) Antibody mediated immunity
C) Cell-mediated immunity
D) Natural killer cells
E) B cells

Question 31

What do B cells do when they identify a pathogen?

A) Kill it
B) Engulf and eat it
C) Engage helper T cells to fight the infection
D) Produce antigens to bind to the pathogen and memory cells to guard against future infection.
E) Produce antibodies to bind to the pathogen and memory cells to guard against future infection.

Question 32

What do antibodies do?

A) Each identifies one specific antigen from a foreign invader and attacks and kills the invader.
B) Each identifies one specific antigen from a foreign invader and binds to it so that cell can't reproduce.
C) Each identifies one specific antigen from a foreign invader and then triggers an inflammatory response.
D) They coat the surface of specific foreign invaders, making it easer for macrophages to eat them.
E) They recruit T cells from the thymus to attack and kill invaders identified by a specific antigen.

Question 33

What do helper T cells do?

A) Detect foreign invaders
B) Enhance B-cell responses
C) Alert other T cells that there is an infection
D) Increase the response of cytotoxic T cells
E) All of the above

Question 34

If your immune system has memory cells for every cold virus you've ever had, why can you still catch colds?

A) Memory cells don't last very long.
B) Memory cells aren't produced in response to a viral infection.
C) Cold viruses change so quickly that memory cells from previous colds won't recognize the new versions.
D) Viral infections suppress one's immune response.
E) Memory cells only work on bacteria.

Question 35

If your thymus were removed, how would that affect your immunity?

A) Nothing really, because your B cells could handle most infections.
B) You would be much more prone to bacterial infections.
C) Your immune system would be more likely to "turn on itself," and you'd have an autoimmune disease.
D) Your T cells wouldn't work properly, so you would be much more prone to viral infections.
E) Your immune system would be unable to recognize any foreign antigens.

Question 36

When someone gets a bone marrow transplant, they have to be quarantined and carefully protected from pathogens for a period of time afterward. Why?

A) It's a traumatic procedure, and any extra stress on their body could kill them.
B) Bone marrow produces blood cells, so they have insufficient circulation for a period of time so their immune system lacks the energy to fight off any infection.
C) Anytime a foreign substance, even someone else's bone marrow, is introduced to a body, there is an extra risk of infection.
D) Bone marrow produces the main cells involved in the specific immune response, so these patients are at special risk of infection until they build up enough marrow to produce sufficient cells.
E) A common complication of bone marrow transplants is infection, and doctor's don't want the infection to spread to others.

Question 37

The strategy of vaccination to fight diseases uses what type of immunity?

A) Specific immunity
B) Passive immunity
C) Non-specific immunity
D) Natural immunity
E) Cell-mediated immunity

Question 38

How do vaccines work to fight infection?

A) They increase the body's resistance to infections in general by strengthening the immune system.
B) They introduce the immune system to a particular antigen so it will produce memory cells ready to fight the infection if it strikes again.
C) They mildly infect the body so the immune system can practice fighting off a particular infection so it will do a better job with the real thing.
D) They prevent all subsequent infections from occurring.
E) They enhance the ability of the T cells to produce antibodies later on.

Question 39

Vaccines always work. True or false?

A) False. Sometimes memory cells are not produced.
B) True. They always work to some degree.
C) False. Some pathogens change so fast that memory cells for an earlier infection won't recognize the same pathogen in a subsequent infection.
D) True. We've eliminated many diseases using them.
E) False. Sometimes scientists don't make them correctly.

Question 40

Babies are always at high risk of infection because they lack any sort of specific immune response in their first year. True or false?

A) True. The specific immune system has to be exposed to a few things to develop, and this takes some time.
B) False. Babies acquire antibodies from their mother in the womb and also from the earliest breast milk.
C) True. The thymus does not mature to produce functional T cells for about the first year.
D) False. Babies have a fully functional specific immune system from birth and can fight of disease as well as an adult.
E) True. Babies put so much energy into growth in their first year that their immune system simply doesn't have the energy to function for a year or so.

Question 41

It's a good strategy to vaccinate babies as young as we do in the United States. True or false?

A) False. Introduction of dangerous infectious agents to such immature immune systems can frequently lead to full-blown infections.
B) True. That way they're too young to really remember that it hurts to get a shot.
C) False. Not only are the weakened infectious agents in the vaccine dangerous to an immature immune system, the introduction of a needle can easily introduce other infections.
D) True. The baby needs to get those memory cells up and running as early as possible for protection against dangerous infectious diseases.
E) False. Babies don't have the right of refusal. We should wait until they're old enough to consent.

Question 42

Where does antivenom come from?

A) It is extracted directly from the snake.
B) It is engineered in the lab based on the particular toxin involved.
C) Small amounts of venom is injected into animals which then produce antibodies, and those antibodies are collected and concentrated into antivenom.
D) Small amounts of venom is injected into animals their thymus is then extracted and ground up to release the B and T memory cells that can then be used as antivenom.
E) Snakes are allowed to bite mice, and the memory cells from the mice are then collected and concentrated into antivenom.

Question 43

Why can't your immune system fight off the toxins in most venoms?

A) It probably could if it had time to, but the toxins act too quickly.
B) Your immune has never seen venom before unless you've been bitten before, so there are no memory cells to get to work.
C) The venom does not have antigens like normal pathogenic cells so it is invisible to the immune system.
D) Because a toxin isn't a cell, B cells and T cells don't recognize it as an invader.
E) Toxins are generally from reptiles and because we're mammals, our immune systems simply don't know what to make of a reptile product.

Question 44

How are antibodies other your own used to help fight an infection?

A) They are engineered in the lab to behave like your own antibodies and can be used instead.
B) They are isolated from someone else and used as a supplement to the patient's own immune system.
C) They can be injected and will function like memory cells, preventing future infections.
D) They are concentrated from animals who have been infected with a particular disease and used to supplement a sick person's immune system response.
E) All of the above

Question 45

Where do antibiotics typically come from?

A) They are genetically engineered in labs to kill specific pathogens.
B) They are gotten from or modeled after chemicals various organisms make and use to kill bacteria.
C) They are extracted from microorganisms who make them to kill other microorganisms.
D) Plants
E) They are engineered in labs to kill specific pathogens.

Question 46

Is simple hygiene a key to stopping infectious diseases?

A) Yes, pathogens grow better in unsanitary conditions.
B) Yes, you can avoid taking in and passing around pathogens by washing your hands frequently and keeping your bodily fluids to yourself.
C) Yes, there are no pathogens in clean conditions.
D) No, it helps, but not all that much because bacteria are everywhere.
E) No, because if you manage to sterilize yourself, the good bacteria are no longer there to keep the bad bacteria at bay.

Question 47

Why aren't antibiotics necessarily the solution to pathogen infections?

A) There aren't antibiotics that can kill every pathogen.
B) Pathogens can become resistant to antibiotics over time.
C) If you kill off an infection with antibiotics rather than allowing an immune system to do it, there will be no memory cells to prevent future infections.
D) Not everyone can take antibiotics.
E) All of the above

Question 48

Why does poverty raise the risk of pathogenic outbreaks?

A) There may be a lack of resources like clean water and sewer.
B) Undereducated people may not realize the importance of hygiene.
C) Undernourishment contributes to weak immune responses.
D) There may be lack of access to good medical care.
E) All of the above.

Question 49

Anthony Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) and at the forefront of basic research on how HIV destroys the body's defenses. Why were HIV/AIDs protestors after him?

A) Nobody knew of his work on HIV/AIDS.
B) The NIAID wasn't allowing experimental drugs to be given to the most gravely ill AIDs patients.
C) The NIAID wasn't allowing HIV or AIDs patients to try experimental drugs.
D) The NIAID wasn't doing any research on HIV/AIDS at the time.
E) They were just frustrated at the slow pace of research.

Question 50

Why are monoclonal antibodies so useful?

A) They're easy to produce for any infection, so doctors can use them like medicines, and they only go after diseased cells.
B) They allow for a consistent supply of antibodies that target specific infections, so patients don't have to wait for just their own antibodies to build up, and they only go after diseased cells.
C) They are easy to produce and can target even cancer cells, but there are side effects on par with chemotherapy.
D) They're easy to produce for any infection, so doctors can use them like medicines, and they only go after diseased cells, but they don't last long so they constantly have to be remade.
E) They might be useful once they are approved for use in humans. So far the side effects are unknown.

Question 51

If an otherwise healthy person is traumatically injured and his or her organs can be donated, about how many people could potentially benefit?

A) 5
B) 15
C) 25
D) 50
E) 55

Question 52

How did two graduate students discover that the bursa of Fabricus (BF) is what produces the cells necessary for antibody-mediated immunity in chickens?

A) The BF was removed from chickens for another study, and when those chickens were injected with bacteria, it turned out they produced no antibodies which meant they were producing no B cells.
B) The BF was removed from chickens for another study and when they were injected with bacteria, it turned out they produced no antibodies which meant they were producing no T cells.
C) They observed that the BF grew rapidly in the weeks after chicks hatched, which would be just when an immune system would be developing.
D) They noticed that chicks without a thymus had no cell-mediated immunity.
E) Some of the chicks without a BF died when injected with bacteria, suggesting they had no effective immune system.

Question 53

What is the name of the bacteria that causes cholera?

Question 54

What is the source of the cholera bacteria in outbreaks?

Question 55

Are most of the bacteria living on a person potentially harmful?

Question 56

Are bacterial cells prokaryotes or eukaryotes?

Question 57

How does the stomach provide a line of defense against pathogens?

Question 58

What is the purpose of the inflammatory response?

Question 59

Which cells in our immune system allow vaccines to work?

Question 60

Babies acquire antibodies from their mothers before they are born and in the earliest breast milk. What type of immunity is this?

Question 61

What is in antivenom?

Question 62

Why can't your immune system respond on its own to typical snake venom?

Question 63

What is probably the most important thing you can do to prevent infections?

Question 64

Why is cholera now rare in the developed world?