Microbiology worksheet with answers

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

1. AStaphylococcus aureus
2. BStreptococcus pyogenes
3. CEscherichia coli
4. DMycobacterium tuberculosis

What is the most effective single measure to prevent the spread of infection in hospitals?

1. AKeeping windows closed
2. BHand hygiene
3. CWearing a face mask at all times
4. DGiving every patient antibiotics

Tapeworms and roundworms are examples of:

1. APrions
2. BFungi
3. CHelminths
4. DProtozoa

Why are pregnant women advised to avoid unpasteurised soft cheeses?

1. AThey often contain the hepatitis C virus, which crosses the placenta
2. BThey contain too much lactose for the fetus
3. CThey may contain tapeworm eggs
4. DThey may contain Listeria, which can harm the fetus

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. BLegionella pneumophila, which lives inside amoebae
3. CMycobacterium tuberculosis, which has a waxy mycolic acid wall
4. DStreptococcus pneumoniae, which has a capsule

Which organism is a Gram-negative diplococcus that causes a sexually transmitted infection?

1. ANeisseria gonorrhoeae
2. BTreponema pallidum
3. CChlamydia trachomatis
4. DTrichomonas vaginalis

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

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

Why is Chlamydia trachomatis usually diagnosed with nucleic acid amplification tests instead of routine culture on agar?

1. AIt is an obligate intracellular bacterium that cannot grow on ordinary media
2. BIt is too large to grow on agar plates
3. CIt dies immediately in the presence of oxygen
4. DIt is a virus and has no DNA