How is an opportunistic pathogen different from a pathogen?

Which of the following is/are true regarding our normal microbiota? Select all that apply. (NCLEX/HESI/TEAS)

a. Our normal microbiota is easily disrupted by hygiene practices like hand washing.

b. Our normal microbiota can include pathogens.

c. Normal microbiota compete with pathogens.

d. Normal microbiota may colonize us before we are even born.

e. Normal microbiota changes over time.

f. The normal microbiota that we have as adults is the same as we had as children.

g. The normal microbiota of the gut is similar to that of the skin.

Over time, Koch’s disease postulates have been rephrased in a variety of ways, but they still reflect the same process outlined by Robert Koch. The following are reworded versions of Koch’s postulates. Based on the original postulates, put the following items in the correct order.

a. Use the purified agent to cause infection in a test animal.

b. Isolate an infectious agent from a diseased animal.

c. Grow the infectious agent as a pure culture in the lab.

d. From the test animal, re-isolate the infectious agent that was originally grown in pure culture.

What best describes the relationship between host and pathogen?

a. Mutualism

b. Parasitism

c. Commensalism

d. Endosymbiosis

Label the following modes of transmission as either direct or indirect. For all indirect transmissions, also specify which of the three categories of indirect transmission is involved.

Transmission of HIV across the placenta:

Transmission of a pathogen through drinking contaminated water:

Transmission of malaria by a mosquito to a human host:

Transmission of a pathogen through breast milk:

Transmission of rabies by a dog bite:

Transmission of a pathogen by touching a doorknob:

Transmission of a pathogen by a contaminated needle:

Transmission of a respiratory pathogen through respiratory droplets:

In developed nations, which of the following are considered endemic diseases, and which are considered sporadic diseases?

Influenza: (endemic or sporadic)

Tetanus: (endemic or sporadic)

Plague: (endemic or sporadic)

Common cold: (endemic or sporadic)

Streptococcal pharyngitis: (endemic or sporadic)

Botulism: (endemic or sporadic)

Pneumonia: (endemic or sporadic)

From the following choices, select all of the factors that impact prevalence rate. (NCLEX/HESI/TEAS)

a. Duration of a disease

b. The type of pathogen responsible (such as if the pathogen is viral or bacterial)

c. Cure rates for a disease

d. The pathogenicity of the microbe that causes the disease

e. The effectiveness of preventive measures

f. The incidence rate of a disease

g. The quality of diagnostic tools

h. The severity of the disease

Indicate the true statements and then correct the false statements, so they are true.

a. Zoonotic diseases pass from humans to animals.

b. Communicable diseases spread from person to person.

c. Noncommunicable diseases are contagious.

d. Koch’s postulates of disease are mainly used to study noninfectious diseases.

Match the following: <IMAGE>

List three functions of public health.

State what type of mortality rate is applicable.

Scenario 1: Out of 6,000 live births last week, 10 of the women died.

Type of mortality rate?

Scenario 2: 300 patients had disease X last year, 10 of whom died.

Type of mortality rate?

Scenario 3: Of the 120,000 live births in a particular community last year, 15 of the babies died before their first birthday.

Type of mortality rate?

Scenario 4: Out of 3,000 people in a given population, 100 died of pneumonia.

Type of mortality rate?

Calculated mortality rate (expressed per 100 in the population):

Draft a Venn diagram to compare and contrast descriptive and analytical epidemiology.

Diseases that the CDC collects information on through collaboration with state and local health authorities are called (NCLEX/HESI/TEAS)

a. communicable diseases.

b. reportable diseases.

c. nationally notifiable diseases.

d. investigative diseases.

e. case report illnesses.

An epidemiological study design that is commonly used for determining the efficacy of a drug therapy is a(n)

a. experimental study.

b. case report.

c. cross-sectional study.

d. correlation study.

e. observational study.

A(n) _______________________ groups the study populations by exposure versus nonexposure to a certain risk factor to see if either group develops the outcome in question.

a. experimental study

b. case report

c. cross-sectional study

d. correlation study

e. observational study

Assume your patient has a superantigen circulating in their blood. Select the single statement that is most likely to apply to your patient. (NCLEX/HESI/TEAS)

a. They are at risk for endotoxic shock.

b. They are not up to date on their vaccinations.

c. They are infected with a Gram-positive microbe.

d. They do not have a fever.

e. They have a viral infection.

A pathogen that makes endotoxin, enters through the fecal–oral route, and lacks a nucleus is most likely a (NCLEX/HESI/TEAS)

a. virus.

b. Gram-positive bacterium.

c. Gram-negative bacterium.

d. protozoan pathogen.

e. There is not enough information to answer this question.

Complete the table: <IMAGE>

Which of the following is false regarding biofilms? (NCLEX/HESI/TEAS)

a. They tend to consist of one species of microbe.

b. They are platforms on which pathogens may adhere.

c. They form on indwelling devices.

d. They may harbor pathogens.

e. They can form on natural and manufactured surfaces.

Make a Venn diagram to compare and contrast endotoxins and exotoxins.

What three main options can a pathogen pursue following adhesion?

Which of the following is false regarding toxemia? (NCLEX/HESI/TEAS)

a. It can be caused by bacteria or fungi.

b. It is localized in the patient’s body.

c. It can be caused by endotoxins.

d. It can be caused by exotoxins.

e. Some forms are vaccine preventable.

What precautions or actions would apply to an HIV/AIDS patient? Select all that apply. (NCLEX/HESI/TEAS)

a. Droplet precautions

b. Standard precautions

c. BSL-4 precautions

d. Universal precautions

e. AFB precautions

f. Isolation practices

Which of the following is/are features of endotoxic shock? Select all that apply. (NCLEX/HESI/TEAS)

a. Fever

b. Confusion

c. Hypertension

d. Bradycardia

e. Decreased respiratory rate

f. Achiness

Which of the following is a true statement? (NCLEX/HESI/TEAS)

a. If a pathogen establishes an infection, it is described as virulent.

b. Pathogenicity is the extent of disease caused by a microbe.

c. Normal microbiota are not usually affected by host factors.

d. A pathogen’s virulence factors change over time in response to selective pressures.

e. Attenuated pathogens cause disease in a normal host.

Place the following steps for infection in order from first to last:

Invade tissues and obtain nutrients

Adhere to host tissues

Enter the host

Exit the host

Evade immune defenses

What BSL would an airborne pathogen that causes potentially deadly, but treatable, disease be placed into? Explain your answer.

Define the class of each listed exotoxin as type I, II, or III:

a. Superantigen

b. Hemolysins

c. Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins that cause food poisoning

d. AB toxin

e. Membrane-damaging toxins

f. Phospholipases

Which of the following is true regarding tropism? (NCLEX/HESI/TEAS)

a. It is the preference of a pathogen for a given tissue.

b. It is constant for a given microbe.

c. It limits a pathogen to infecting only one host.

d. It is determined by portal of entry.

e. It is independent of host factors.

Select the false statement about normal microbiota. (NCLEX/HESI/TEAS)

a. They compete with pathogens.

b. They do not include potential pathogens.

c. They make vitamins for the host.

d. They train the immune system.

e. A disruption in their balance can lead to disease.