Microbiology worksheet with answers

What is sterilisation?

1. ACleaning visible dirt from surfaces
2. BKilling only bacteria but not viruses
3. CReducing the number of microorganisms to a level safe for patients
4. DKilling or removing all microorganisms including spores

The HPV vaccine mainly protects against:

1. AHIV infection
2. BHerpes simplex infection
3. CHepatitis B and liver cancer
4. DCervical and other cancers caused by human papillomavirus

What is an antigen?

1. AA type of white blood cell
2. BA drug that blocks bacterial growth
3. CA protein made by plasma cells to fight infection
4. DA molecule that the immune system recognises

How do people usually become infected with Legionella pneumophila?

1. ABy eating undercooked chicken or unpasteurised milk products
2. BBy inhaling aerosols from contaminated water systems
3. CBy person-to-person spread through kissing
4. DBy being bitten by an infected tick

Which is a function of the complement system?

1. AProducing antibodies against newly encountered antigens
2. BForming pores in the membranes of some bacteria
3. CPresenting antigens to T cells
4. DMaking new red blood cells

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

1. AA food-borne infection
2. BA vector-borne infection
3. CA zoonotic infection
4. DAn opportunistic infection

In the 1840s Ignaz Semmelweis lowered deaths from puerperal fever in a Vienna maternity clinic. What did he introduce?

1. AHandwashing with chlorinated lime before examining women
2. BKeeping mothers in separate isolation rooms after delivery
3. CTreating mothers with penicillin
4. DVaccination of all mothers before birth

Which feature distinguishes most exotoxins from endotoxin?

1. AExotoxins are proteins and can be turned into toxoid vaccines
2. BExotoxins are heat-stable lipids
3. CExotoxins are only released when bacteria die
4. DExotoxins are lipopolysaccharides of the Gram-negative outer membrane