1. The bacterium that causes cholera causes the pathological effects of cholera because
a) It induces a high fever
b) It secretes a toxic protein (toxin)
c) It kills phagocytes
d) It multiplies in vesicles inside phagocytes
e) It causes an overreaction from the immune response

2. If your tuberculin skin test is positive, that means that
a) You have been exposed to tuberculosis (and infected by the germ)
b) You have had active tuberculosis at some time in your life (even if not now)
c) You have active tuberculosis now
d) You carry drug-resistant tuberculosis germs
e) You are not immune to tuberculosis (i.e. that you are at risk)

3. Which of these diseases is not in the same category as the others?
a) Kuru
b) Hansen’s Disease
c) Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome
d) Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy
e) Scrapie

4. The influenza that swept the world in 1918-19 was called “Spanish Flu,” but it probably originated not in Spain but
a) In Germany or France on the battlefield of World War I
b) In Hong Kong
c) In South or Central America
d) Somewhere on the Indian subcontinent
e) In Kansas

5. Bubonic Plague is usually transmitted to humans by the bite of a
a) Flea
b) Tick
c) Mosquito
d) Dog
e) Rat

6. The island where kuru was discovered was
a) Australia
b) New Zealand
c) New Guinea
d) Iceland
e) Great Britain

7. Antacids reduce the number of cholera germ needed to cause cholera (by 10,000 fold!) because
a) The cholera germs are easily killed by stomach acid
b) The cholera germs are more likely to be successful in causing cholera if the person has an ulcer
c) Cholera germs require high levels of calcium or magnesium for survival
d) In the third world, antacids are taken with water that is often contaminated
e) Antacids are made from the shells of crabs and shrimp-like sea creatures

8. The bacterial with waxy (mycolic acid) coats that make them resistant to acid bleaching are most likely to be associated with which disease?
a) Cholera
b) Tuberculosis
c) Influenza
d) Bubonic plague
e) Scrapie/kuru

9. Which of these diseases is caused by a virus rather than by a bacterium
a) Cholera
b) Tuberculosis
c) Influenza
d) Bubonic plague
e) Typhoid fever

10. Outbreaks of a deadly disease in farm-raised mink provided a clue that helped our understanding of
a) Cholera
b) Tuberculosis
c) Influenza
d) Bubonic plague
e) Scrapie/kuru

11. The “Plague of Justinian” that followed the fall of Rome was probably an outbreak of
a) Cholera
b) Tuberculosis
c) Influenza
d) Bubonic plague
e) Typhoid Fever

12. Which of these is the LEAST contagious?
a) Cholera
b) Tuberculosis
c) Influenza
d) Bubonic plague
e) Scrapie/kuru

13. The bacterium that causes Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) cannot yet be grown in a test tube. But it is related to a bacterium that can be grown in a test tube and causes
a) Cholera
b) Tuberculosis
c) Influenza
d) Bubonic plague
e) Scrapie/kuru

14. “Slow Virus” is a term once used (incorrectly) to describe the causative agent of
a) Cholera
b) Tuberculosis
c) Influenza
d) Bubonic plague
e) Scrapie/kuru

15. If you are using a microscope to examine sputum samples that have been stained with the Ziehl-Neelson Stain, you are probably trying to confirm a diagnosis of
a) Cholera
b) Tuberculosis
c) Influenza
d) Bubonic plague
e) Scrapie/kuru

16. The disease most associated with cannibalism is
a) Cholera
b) Tuberculosis
c) Influenza
d) Bubonic plague
e) Scrapie/kuru

17. Because of John Snow’s discoveries
a) Many people are vaccinated against tuberculosis with a vaccine of variable effectiveness
b) We are beginning to understand the genetic basis of the influenza pandemic of 1918-19
c) We know that the amyloid plaque found in kuru is different from that seen in Alzheimer’s disease
d) Most large cities began filtering their water
e) Chopin was forced to leave the island of Majorca because of his tuberculosis

18. The mortality pattern associated with the influenza pandemic of 1918-19 was different from that of other influenza epidemics because
a) It killed 20-40 year-olds instead of infants and old people
b) It killed 20-40 year-olds in addition to infants and old people
c) It killed infants and old people instead of 20-40 year-olds
d) It killed infants and 20-40 year-olds instead of old people
e) It killed 20-40 year-olds and old people instead of infants

19. What usually kills bubonic plague victims?
a) Secondary bacterial pneumonia
b) Weakening of the immune response
c) Loss of fluid (water) from the body
d) Starvation due to inability to swallow
e) Septicemia (growth of bacteria in the blood)

20. Inoculation of the chimpanzee “Georgette” with brain material from a kuru patient
a) Induced an immune response and caused a partial reversal of the symptoms she developed after being infected with the scrapie agent
b) Led to all the behavioral symptoms typical of kuru, but not the brain pathology
c) Led to all the brain pathology typical of kuru but not the behavioral symptoms
d) Led to both the behavioral symptoms and the brain pathology typical of kuru
e) Had no effect on her at all. She remained healthy until she dies during an outbreak of tuberculosis in the primate facility several years later

21. What usually causes the death of a cholera victim?
a) Secondary bacterial pneumonia
b) Weakening of the immune response
c) Loss of fluid (water) from the body
d) Starvation due to inability to swallow
e) Septicemia (growth of bacteria in the blood)

22. How many Americans died during the 1918-19 influenza pandemic?
a) About 50,000
b) About 500,000
c) About 5,000,000
d) About 20,000,000
e) Fewer than 1,000