Deck 8: Biology of Infectious Diseases

Question 1

Which of the following diseases is not categorized as an opportunistic infection found in AIDS patients?

A) prolonged diarrhea
B) yeast infections of the mouth or vagina
C) shingles
D) Kaposi sarcoma

Answer 1

D.

Question 2

What types of cells does HIV infect?

A) helper T cells and macrophages
B) B cells and red marrow cells
C) liver cells and cardiac muscle cells
D) epithelial cells and eosinophils
E) basophils and killer T cells

Answer 2

A.

Question 3

Describe the structure of a typical virus.

Answer 3

A virus consists of two basic parts: an outer capsid composed of protein subunits surrounding an inner core of nucleic acids.

Question 4

In which phase of an HIV infection is a person typically asymptomatic?

A) acute phase A)
B) chronic phase B)
C) AIDS C)
D) AIDS D)
E) terminal phase E)

Question 5

If an epidemic is confined to a local area, it is usually called

A) an opportunistic infection.
B) a pandemic.
C) an outbreak.
D) a slow infection.
E) a chronic infection.

Question 6

The vast majority of new HIV infections are in people under the age of 15.

Question 7

Why might an HIV test be negative within the first two to three weeks of an HIV infection?

A) because there is no HIV in the blood
B) because there are no detectable levels of HIV antibodies in the blood
C) because there are no symptoms
D) because the CD4 T-cell count is above 500 cells/mm³
E) because there are no opportunistic infections yet

Question 8

There are normally one or two cases of measles per month in a particular city. However, in the month of September, there were 15 cases. Is this an epidemic?

Question 9

Infection with HIV is listed as the cause of death for an AIDS patient.

Question 10

A disease is called an epidemic if people all over the world have the same disease.

Question 11

Why aren't viruses considered living organisms?

A) because they do not replicate
B) because they do not possess genetic material
C) because they are not composed of cells
D) because they lack the metabolic machinery to acquire and use nutrients
E) None of these are correct.

Question 12

Patient X has 150 CD4 T cells/mm³. What phase of an HIV infection is this patient in?

A) acute phase A)
B) chronic phase B)
C) AIDS C)
D) transmission phase D)
E) terminal phase E)

Question 13

Which of the following molecules is not found in eukaryotic cells?

A) phospholipids
B) DNA
C) RNA
D) peptidoglycan
E) All of these are found in eukaryotic cells.

Question 14

When was the first documented case of HIV in the United States?

A) 1884
B) 1924
C) 1959
D) 1969
E) 1982

Question 15

What are fimbriae, and what is their function?

A) They are long, thin appendages that allow bacteria to be motile move).
B) They are stiff fibers that allow bacteria to adhere to surfaces.
C) They are elongated, hollow appendages that allow for the transfer of DNA.
D) They are small, circular pieces of DNA that frequently contain genes for antibiotic resistance.
E) They are a thick, gelatinous substance surrounding some bacterial cells that allow them to stick to surfaces and protect them from phagocytic white blood cells.

Question 16

HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis are both examples of current

A) outbreaks.
B) epidemics.
C) pandemics.
D) opportunistic infections.
E) acute infections.

Question 17

Which category of disease classification is described as having more cases than expected in a given period of time?

A) epidemic
B) outbreak
C) pandemic
D) opportunistic infection
E) none of these

Question 18

How does HIV know which cells to infect?

A) It can infect any cell it comes in contact with.
B) It can only infect cells on surfaces of the body where the temperature is lower.
C) It can only infect cells that are actively growing and dividing.
D) It can infect cells with particular surface receptors.
E) It only infects cells that line the reproductive tract.

Question 19

Which of the following is not a characteristic found in Gram-negative bacteria?

A) Plasmids and antibiotic resistance.
B) A peptidoglycan cell wall.
C) An outer membrane composed of lipopolysaccharide.
D) They Gram stain pink.
E) A thick peptidoglycan cell wall that stains purple.

Question 20

Prokaryotic cells do not possess DNA.

Question 21

Of the following modes of HIV transmission, which is the least common mode and rare in many countries?

A) transfusions of infected blood
B) vaginal/rectal intercourse with an infected person
C) needle sharing among IV drug users
D) babies born to HIV-infected women
E) oral-genital contact with an infected person

Question 22

The envelope of the HIV virus is actually part of the host cell plasma membrane.

Question 23

List and explain the events that occur during the reproductive cycle of an HIV virus.

Question 24

Arrange the steps of the HIV life cycle in the correct order:1. Assembly 2. Integration
3) Entry
4) Fusion
5) Attachment
6) Budding
7) Biosynthesis and cleavage
8) Reverse transcription

A) 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 7, 6, 8
B) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
C) 8, 1, 7, 2, 6, 3, 5, 4
D) 4, 6, 3, 7, 2, 8, 1, 5
E) 5, 4, 3, 8, 2, 7, 1, 6

Question 25

In the "kitchen-sink model" for CD4 T-cell loss, what does the sink's drain represent?

A) the destruction of CD4 T cells by the virus
B) the production of new CD4 T cells
C) the amplification of the virus in the blood
D) the destruction of the virus by the immune system
E) the wide variety of possible opportunistic infections

Question 26

The HIV virus contains a genome composed of

A) double-stranded DNA.
B) single-stranded DNA.
C) double-stranded RNA.
D) single-stranded RNA.
E) one strand of DNA and one strand of RNA.

Question 27

HIV strains may differ by 10% within one person and by 35% in people around the globe. This is due to

A) both cellular and antibody-mediated responses.
B) the fact that HIV inserts its genome into the host genome.
C) HIV's high rate of mutation.
D) the fact that HIV targets T cells.
E) the fact that most people do not die from HIV infection.

Question 28

Which of the following is important for the attachment stage of the HIV life cycle?

A) acquisition of an envelope from the host
B) gp120 spike proteins
C) cleavage of the proteins by protease
D) integration of the viral DNA into the host genome
E) uncoating

Question 29

How long does treatment for TB take?

A) one to two days
B) one to two weeks
C) one month
D) two months
E) six months or more

Question 30

Which of the following is not important for classifying HIV as a retrovirus?

A) reverse transcriptase
B) RNA genome
C) an envelope obtained from the host
D) the production of viral DNA
E) integration into the host genome

Question 31

AIDS is the new name for what used to be called consumption.

Question 32

The organism that causes malaria is a

A) virus.
B) bacterium.
C) protist.
D) fungus.
E) worm.

Question 33

Which of the following is not a layer of the protein coat that surrounds the HIV genetic material?

A) matrix
B) capsid
C) nucleocapsid
D) protease
E) gp120

Question 34

An HIV vaccine would be the cure for AIDS that science has been looking for.

Question 35

What are the symptoms of a TB infection?

A) skin rash, fever
B) opportunistic infections, chronic diarrhea
C) bad cough, chest pain, coughing up blood or sputum
D) runny nose, sore throat, postnasal drip
E) lethargy, general malaise

Question 36

How is Mycobacterium tuberculosis spread?

A) airborne droplets
B) contaminated food or water
C) sexual intercourse
D) IV drug abuse
E) blood transfusions

Question 37

There currently is no effective cure for AIDS.

Question 38

List and describe the opportunistic diseases that individuals in category C of AIDS usually die from.

Question 39

Describe the causative agents and transmission of tuberculosis.

Question 40

Tuberculosis is caused by a

A) virus.
B) bacterium.
C) fungus.
D) protist.
E) worm.

Question 41

Most people with malaria exhibit chills and fevers every 48 to 72 hours. This is due to

A) reinfection with new Plasmodium.
B) the bursting of red blood cells in the body.
C) the formation of Plasmodium gametes within the body.
D) the fusion of the male and female Plasmodium gametes to form new organisms.
E) waves of activity from the body's B and T cells.

Question 42

Which of the following has/have developed antibiotic resistance?

A) tuberculosis
B) malaria
C) gonorrhea
D) enterococci
E) All of these diseases and organisms have developed drug resistance.

Question 43

The use of antibiotics does not cause antibiotic resistance.

Question 44

Why is Helicobacter pylori considered an emerging disease?

A) It is highly resistant to antibiotics.
B) Ulcers were not known to have an infectious cause until recently.
C) It is now present on all of the continents.
D) It can jump from humans to pigs and back again.
E) It had declined in the 1960s but appears to be back again.

Question 45

Streptococcus is now considered to be a reemerging pathogen.

Question 46

Which of the following diseases is considered an emerging disease?

A) SARS
B) H1N1
C) H5N1
D) strep throat
E) All of these are considered emerging diseases.

Question 47

SARS is thought to have arisen in China due to the consumption of civets.

Question 48

Once SARS appeared in China, how long did it take for it to reach nine other countries/provinces via air travel?

A) three months
B) six months
C) one year
D) two years
E) five years

Question 49

An emerging disease is one that

A) is newly recognized in the last two decades.
B) has suddenly caused an epidemic.
C) is now present on multiple continents.
D) can infect both humans and animals.
E) can be transmitted in multiple ways.

Question 50

People can become resistant to antibiotics.

Question 51

Why is bird flu H5N1) considered an emerging disease whereas HIV is not?

A) Bird flu H5N1) has only been recognized in the past 20 years.
B) Bird flu H5N1) is more deadly than HIV.
C) Bird flu H5N1) is bacterial whereas HIV is viral.
D) Bird flu H5N1) has infected more people than HIV.
E) Bird flu H5N1) has not infected as many people as HIV.

Question 52

How is malaria spread?

A) airborne droplets
B) blood transfusions
C) sexual intercourse
D) breast-feeding
E) mosquitoes

Question 53

The drugs that treat malaria can be used prophylactically, or before infection.

Question 54

There is no point to taking antibiotics for a cold.

Question 55

Legionnaires disease emerged in 1976 due to

A) exposure to wild monkeys.
B) the consumption of horseshoe bats.
C) a mutation of the influenza virus.
D) contamination of an air-conditioning system.
E) the abuse of antibiotics.

Question 56

Which of the following factors is/are helping increase the incidence of emerging diseases?

A) global warming
B) expansion of range by insect vectors
C) abuse of antibiotics
D) poor implementation of vaccination programs
E) All of these factors are helping increase the incidence of emerging diseases.

Question 57

Unlike AIDS, both tuberculosis and malaria can be cured.

Question 58

When penicillin was introduced, how long did it take for penicillin-resistant strains of bacteria to emerge?

A) 6 months
B) 1 year
C) 4 years
D) 10 years
E) 25 years

Question 59

When were the first cases of SARS reported?

A) 2002
B) 1992
C) 1820
D) 1920
E) 2012

Question 60

Where does the life cycle of the Plasmodium protist take place?

A) in mosquitoes
B) in humans
C) in both mosquitoes and humans
D) in snails
E) in pigs

Question 61

How many different "lines" of antibiotics against TB are there?

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four
E) five or more

Question 62

Which types) of antibiotics) is MRSA resistant to?

A) methicillin
B) penicillin
C) amoxicillin
D) none of these
E) all of these

Question 63

What do MDR TB and MRSA have in common?

A) Both are transmitted by mosquitoes.
B) Both cause tuberculosis.
C) Both are multidrug-resistant bacteria.
D) Both have seen their numbers of infections decline dramatically in recent years.
E) Both are viruses.

Question 64

Which of the following is an unwise use of antibiotics?

A) discontinuing antibiotics when you feel better
B) not taking antibiotics for a viral infection
C) not saving unused antibiotics
D) not skipping doses of antibiotics
E) taking antibiotics only to treat the infection for which they were prescribed

Question 65

MRSA can be fatal.