Quiz: Spread of Disease

Millions of people living all over the world have cancer. Is cancer a pandemic?

• No, because cancer is not contagious.
• No, because cancer is not always fatal.
• Yes, because millions of people have cancer.
• Yes, because people all over the world have cancer.

A city has an outbreak of a disease that affects an unusually large portion of its population at the same time. Which term BEST describes the outbreak?

• pandemic
• plague
• epidemic
• infection

In 1918, an outbreak of influenza infected 500,000 people all over the world. Tens of millions of those infected died. In 1994, an outbreak of pneumonic plague spread quickly through the city of Surat in India, killing 52 people.
Which statement BEST describes the two events?

• Both outbreaks were pandemics.
• Both outbreaks were epidemics.
• The influenza outbreak was a pandemic. The plague outbreak was an epidemic.
• The influenza outbreak was an epidemic. The plague outbreak was a pandemic.

Which tool is MOST responsible for preventing future pandemics of smallpox?

• worldwide vaccination for smallpox
• global education about smallpox
• better worldwide urban sanitation
• improved global quarantine facilities

Which vector could lead to a malaria epidemic?

• fly
• bat
• mosquito

If a monkey is a vector for an infectious disease, which bestdescribes how it transmits into the human population and becomes an epidemic?

• The monkey inhales contaminated drops from the air.
• The monkey bites a human.
• The monkey shares food.

Which is the best requirement for viruses to reproduce?

• The virus must be inside a living cell.
• The virus must produce a toxin.
• The virus must be a pathogen.

How are quarantines used to slow the spread of an epidemic?

• Quarantines prevent individuals from eating food that is potentially contaminated.
• Quarantines allow enough time for antibiotics to take effect in infected individuals.
• Quarantines keep infected individuals separate so they cannot pass the disease to others.
• Quarantines keep people inside their homes so that family members can provide care for each other.

Which antibiotic was developed from a fungus and has been used to cure many illnesses that could have led to epidemics?

• aspirin
• ethanol
• penicillin
• acetaminophen

Pathogens can be spread through contaminated food and water.

• True

• False