Deck 8: Communicable Diseases

Question 1

A nurse treats a patient with Lyme disease and notes that ____ act as vectors and transmits the agent from its reservoir to its host.
1)Hookworms
2)Anthropods
3)Protozoa
4)Viruses

Answer 1

2

Question 2

Communicable diseases that a nurse might expect to commonly encounter in patients include:
1)Chickenpox.
2)TB.
3)Influenza.
4)Both A and C.

Answer 2

3

Question 3

Although many communicable diseases have been eradicated, new ones are appearing or old ones are morphing into new forms. Which of the following fall into the category of those not yet eradicated?
1)Multiple drug resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB)
2)Smallpox
3)West Nile Virus
4)Both A and C

Answer 3

4

Question 4

When a patient shows symptoms of pneumonia, the nurse knows to first understand three key factors about the disease, including:
1)The infectious agent causing the pneumonia.
2)The environment relevant to the transmission of disease from one person to another.
3)Who is at risk for becoming infected.
4)All of the above.

Question 5

Infection control nurses in two hospitals located in the same county notice an increase in positive labs for Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 infections in their patients. They then join the investigative team at the public health department to assist in an investigation to determine if there is a possible outbreak. Which of the following lists reflects the order of steps taken in an outbreak investigation?
1)Define a case, collect data on each case, plot an epidemic curve, generate a hypothesis.
2)Generate a hypothesis, define a case, collect data on each case, plot an epidemic curve.
3)Plot an epidemic curve, generate a hypothesis, define a case, collect data on each case.
4)Collect data on each case, define a case, plot an epidemic curve, generate a hypothesis.

Question 6

A nurse who treated a patient with a severe respiratory infection incorporates which of the following preventive measures to ensure the disease will not spread to others?
1)Uses personal protection equipment (PPE)
2)Washes hands frequently
3)Properly cleans patient areas
4)All of the above

Question 7

When treating patients that may have an active communicable disease, nurses are required to institute appropriate isolation procedures based on the known or suspected agent. These procedures are public health interventions aimed at preventing the spread of disease in:
1)Employees.
2)Community members.
3)Other patients.
4)All of the above.

Question 8

Several factors influence the decisions of public health agencies to make vaccines mandatory. These include:
1)Effectiveness of the vaccine.
2)Where the highest risk exists.
3)Where the lowest risk exists.
4)Both A and B.

Question 9

Infectious agents classified as mycoses are what type of agent?
1)Unicellular microorganisms
2)Single-celled animals such as flagellates and amoeboids
3)Parasitic worm-like organisms
4)Fungi

Question 10

A nurse starting a new job in a pediatric clinic is reviewing a list of commonly seen infectious diseases associated with respiratory illnesses related to an increased risk of mortality in children. Which one of these is included on the list?
1)Chickenpox
2)Tuberculosis (TB)
3)Influenza
4)Mumps

Question 11

A nurse working in a community clinic noticed an unusually large number of patients with a specific type of influenza. The nurse knew that this was occurring in other states as well, making it:
1)A pandemic.
2)Endemic.
3)An epidemic.
4)Both A and B.

Question 12

While studying communicable diseases, a PHN learns that the main objective is to control the spread of disease by:
1)Changing the environment.
2)Activating the agent.
3)Increasing host resistance.
4)Both A and C.

Question 13

A nurse volunteering in a clinic in a west African country notices many patients have diarrheal disease. To help set up prevention efforts, which mode of transmission would she not consider?
1)Waterborne
2)Foodborne
3)Person-to-person contact
4)Vectorborne

Question 14

A patient showing signs of pneumonia is admitted to a hospital where tests indicate he has highly infectious M. tuberculosis. He has had contact with many patients, employees, and family members despite placing him in isolation. An investigation team should take which of the following steps to find out what went wrong?
1)Identify the index case, the first case identified in a particular outbreak.
2)Identify secondary cases, those patients who were diagnosed with active TB and who had contact with the index patient.
3)Identify all contacts.
4)All of the above

Question 15

Nurses give vaccinations to help increase host resistance to other diseases. Among the vaccines commonly administered are:
1)Pneumonia.
2)Influenza.
3)Smallpox.
4)Both A and B.

Question 16

A nurse working in the emergency department is aware that necrotizing fasciitis (the flesh-eating bug) can be caused by:
1)Staphylococcus aureus.
2)Clostridium perfringens.
3)Bacteroides fragilis.
4)All of the above.

Question 17

Each fall, a public health nurse (PHN) working with older adults checks the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's flu report that tracks trends across the country knowing that influenza usually peaks in ____ and again in____.
1)December, February
2)October, March
3)December, April
4)September, February

Question 18

In the City of Baltimore, a team including a PHN noticed that the prevalence of syphilis in the city had increased by 40%. As part of the investigative team, the nurse and colleagues first determined if the number of cases were above the endemic rate associated with an increased risk for disease. This is called:
1)The epidemic threshold.
2)The epidemic curve.
3)Attack rate.
4)Point source.

Question 19

PHNs are involved in protecting the population at large from the spread of infectious agents. They must be able to identify elements of the cycle of communicable disease transmission in their patients, including all of the following except:
1)Reservoir
2)Portal of entry
3)Susceptible host
4)Antibiotics effective against the agent