Microbiology worksheet with answers

In infection control, what is a vector?

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

How is HIV mainly transmitted?

1. AThrough mosquito bites
2. BThrough coughing, sneezing and sharing cups or cutlery with others
3. CThrough blood, sexual contact and from mother to child
4. DThrough shared drinking glasses

What is the main function of bacterial flagella?

1. AMovement
2. BProtection against drying out
3. CStorage of nutrients
4. DAttachment to host cells

Which organism causes tuberculosis, and what makes it hard to stain with the Gram method?

1. AMycoplasma pneumoniae, which has no cell wall to take up the stain
2. BMycobacterium tuberculosis, which has a waxy mycolic acid wall
3. CStreptococcus pneumoniae, which has a capsule
4. DLegionella pneumophila, which lives inside amoebae

Which virus family includes the viruses that cause cold sores and chickenpox?

1. AHerpesviruses
2. BPicornaviruses
3. CRetroviruses
4. DCoronaviruses

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

1. AA vector-borne infection
2. BA food-borne infection
3. CAn opportunistic infection
4. DA zoonotic infection

Which process can produce a completely new influenza A subtype that causes a pandemic?

1. AAntigenic drift through gradual accumulation of point mutations
2. BTransformation with free DNA
3. CLysogenic conversion by a bacteriophage
4. DAntigenic shift through reassortment of gene segments

Joseph Lister reduced infection after surgery in the 1860s. What was his main innovation?

1. AGiving sulfonamide antibiotics after every operation
2. BVaccinating surgeons against staphylococci
3. CUsing carbolic acid (phenol) as an antiseptic on wounds and instruments
4. DUsing steam autoclaves to sterilise all surgical instruments before each operation