1. If all new infections with HIV were to cease immediately, the number of persons who die of HIV/AIDS per year would
(a) Continue to rise for at least ten years
(b) Continue at the present level for at least ten years
(c) Fall by about 10% per year for the next ten years
(d) Drop to 0 within a year or so

2. The probability that you will get vCJD from eating infected meat is dependent on the species origin of the PrP protein and
(a) The presence of a co-infecting agent, usually a mycoplasma
(b) Whether or not you have a fever
(c) Your genetic susceptibility, based on your own PrP
(d) Your sex
(e) Whether or not you have received the “live” polio vaccine

3. Macon county Alabama is famous because
(a) The first verified instance of AIDS transmitted by blood transfusion occurred there
(b) The first verified instance of AIDS transmitted by injection drug use occurred there
(c) The first verified American instance of AIDS transmitted by heterosexual intercourse occurred there
(d) The first case of AIDS in an African American occurred there
(e) The Tuskeegee Study occurred there

4. In the US, about 50% of the cases of syphilis today occur in 31 counties. Where are most of these counties located?
(a) In and around the port cities of the East, West, and Gulf Coasts
(b) In the industrialized Northern and Mid-Western cities
(c) In California and the other states that border Mexico
(d) In the rural South
(e) In states with high populations of immigrants from Asia and Africa

5. The Wasserman test for syphilis takes advantage of the fact that
(a) The antibodies raised against Treponema pallidum also recognize sheep red blood cells
(b) The antibodies raised against Treponema pallidum also recognize cardiolipin
(c) The antibodies raised against Treponema pallidum also recognize complement
(d) The complement raised against Treponema pallidum also recognizes cardiolipin
(e) The complement raised against Treponema pallidum also recognizes sheep red blood cells

6. The movement that had as its goal the eradication of syphilis in America was known as
(a) Social Hygiene
(b) Eugenics
(c) The Tuskeegee Study
(d) The Nuremberg Law
(e) The WCTU

7. Syphilis is caused by
(a) A rod-shaped bacterium
(b) A sphere-shaped bacterium
(c) A spiral-shaped bacterium
(d) A virus
(e) A fungus

8. Worldwide, the current number of deaths per year from HIV/AIDS is about
(a) 30 thousand
(b) 300 thousand
(c) 3 million
(d) 30 million
(e) 300 million

9. If a syphilitic woman becomes pregnant during the primary stage of her syphilis,
(a) Her baby will be born with latent syphilis and (unless treated) will die before the age of 12
(b) Her baby has about a 50% chance of being born with fulminating syphilis, which will lead to death within days (unless treated)
(c) Her baby has a 90% chance of being syphilis free, but a 10% chance of being born with latent syphilis
(d) Her baby will be free of syphilis, but is likely to have suffered birth defects of varying severity
(e) Her baby will be stillborn

10. Lymphadenopathy is characteristic of many infections including infection by HIV, where the effect is generalized rather than localized. A more common phrase that describes lymphadenopathy is
(a) General lousy feeling
(b) Swollen glands
(c) Night sweats
(d) Throwing up
(e) Fever

11. Of the following people associated with the AIDS crisis in 1980s America, which of these would have been least likely to run into each other in the supermarket?
(a) Diana Feinstein and Harvey Milk
(b) Harvey Milk and Cleve Jones
(c) Cleve Jones and Larry Kramer
(d) Larry Kramer and Paul Popham

12. The “Columbian Exchange” involved not only microbes, but also plants and animals. Which of the following is true about horses and potatoes?
(a) Both were brought from the old world to the new
(b) Both were brought from the new world to the old
(c) Horses were brought from the new world and potatoes were brought from the old
(d) Horses were brought from the old world and potatoes were brought from the new
(e) Both horses and potatoes were present in both the old and the new world

13. Grethe Rask, one of the first Europeans to die of AIDS, probably contracted HIV by
(a) Homosexual intercourse
(b) Heterosexual intercourse
(c) Injection drug use
(d) Blood-blood contact
(e) Perinatal exposure (during birth)

14. Which of these would be least effective in treating syphilis?
(a) Penicillin
(b) Gaiacum wood
(c) Salvorsan
(d) Neo-salvorsan
(e) Mercury rubs

15. On which continent did the current AIDS pandemic begin?
(a) Africa
(b) Asia
(c) Europe
(d) North America
(e) South America

16. In the conquest of the Aztec empire by Cortez, smallpox arrived simultaneously with the Spanish army. In the conquest of the Incan empire by Pizzaro,
(a) Smallpox arrived before the army
(b) Smallpox arrived with the army
(c) Smallpox arrived after the army
(d) Smallpox played no role in the conquest

17. HIV is a retrovirus. That means that, in order for HIV to replicate itself, it must first
(a) Make an RNA copy of its genetic material
(b) Make a DNA copy of its genetic material
(c) Make a protein copy of its genetic material
(d) Degrade its genetic material

18. Bovine PrP would most easily cause a transmissible encephalopathy like kuru, vCJD, or mad cow disease in
(a) Humans
(b) Monkeys
(c) Hamsters
(d) Minks
(e) Cows

19. Which continent has the greatest number of persons infected with HIV?
(a) Africa
(b) Asia
(c) Europe
(d) North America
(e) South America

20. What do smallpox, influenza and AIDS all have in common?
(a) They have long incubation periods before serious symptoms are seen
(b) Infection with any of them is almost 100% fatal when introduced into naïve populations
(c) They are all caused by viruses
(d) If you survive them, you cannot be reinfected by them
(e) They were unknown before 1450

21. The event that had the greatest effect in changing what became known as “The Tuskeegee Study” from a noble venture to a criminal one was
(a) The election of a conservative administration under Herbert Hoover
(b) The election of a liberal administration under Franklin Roosevelt
(c) The crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed it
(d) World War I and the social disruption it engendered
(e) World War II and the social disruption it engendered

22. In 1985, Randy Shilts published a book that made a strong case arguing that more effort was needed in the fight against AIDS. That influential book was entitled
(a) Nero Fiddled while Rome Burned
(b) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
(c) And the Band Played On
(d) Queer as Folk
(e) The Joy of Gay Sex