Microbiology worksheet with answers

Which bacterium is the most common cause of urinary tract infections?

1. AEscherichia coli
2. BMycobacterium tuberculosis
3. CStreptococcus pyogenes
4. DStaphylococcus aureus

Who discovered penicillin in 1928?

1. ALouis Pasteur
2. BAlexander Fleming
3. CJoseph Lister
4. DRobert Koch

In infection control, what is a vector?

1. AThe first person infected in an outbreak
2. BA living organism that carries a pathogen from one host to another
3. CAn object such as a door handle that carries germs between patients on a ward
4. DA drug used to prevent infection

Which white blood cells are the main phagocytes in an acute bacterial infection and the main component of pus?

1. ANeutrophils
2. BEosinophils
3. CB lymphocytes
4. DBasophils

What does PCR do in a diagnostic laboratory?

1. AIt stains bacteria so they can be seen
2. BIt makes many copies of a specific DNA sequence so it can be detected
3. CIt grows bacteria faster on agar plates
4. DIt measures the level of specific antibodies in a patient's serum sample

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in a person with advanced HIV is an example of:

1. AA vector-borne infection
2. BAn opportunistic infection
3. CA food-borne infection
4. DA zoonotic infection

A child develops bloody diarrhoea after eating an undercooked burger, then a week later has kidney failure, anaemia and a low platelet count. Which organism is most likely?

1. AClostridium perfringens
2. BStaphylococcus aureus
3. CRotavirus
4. DShiga toxin-producing E. coli such as O157:H7

In 1854 John Snow traced a cholera outbreak in London to the Broad Street water pump. Why is this study important?

1. AIt proved that cholera is caused by a virus
2. BIt showed that cholera spreads through contaminated water, founding modern epidemiology
3. CIt showed that cholera spreads through "bad air" (miasma)
4. DIt led directly to the first cholera vaccine