GTC MICROBIOLOGY FINAL REVIEW ACTUAL
EXAM PAPER 2026 QUESTIONS WITH
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◉ What is the cause of endotoxic shock? Answer: Dying gram-
negative bacteria disintegrate, releasing endotoxin, which is the lipid
A portion of LPS from the outer membrane, into the blood.
◉ What is the cause of puerperal fever? Answer: Puerperal refers to
the period immediately after childbirth. Puerperal fever is caused by
Strep pyogenes, which is usually harmless on the skin or in the
mouth but causes severe complications when it enters the blood.
Bacteria pass uterine wall into the blood.
◉ Explain how rheumatic fever develops. What type of
hypersensitivity is that? Answer: Rheumatic fever only occurs in 3%
of the cases of people who have had a strep infection. It develops as
a result of an autoimmune response. The antibodies directed against
streptococcal antigens cross-react with heart antigens which then
affect the valves of the heart. This is type 3 immune complex
hypersensitivity.
◉ Name three types of bacteria that cause acute bacterial
endocarditis: Answer: 1) Viridians sreptococcus
2) Staph aureus
,3) Strep pneumonia
many other bacteria
◉ What causes "cat-scratch fever?" Answer: Bartonella
◉ Name the signs of cat scratch fever: Answer: swelling where
scratched or bit, lymph node involvement
◉ What does it mean that the disease ofter is "subclinical?" Answer:
The disease may go unnoticed because of the absence of symptoms,
even though clinical tests reveal signs of disease.
◉ Name the causative agent in plague: Answer: Yersinia pestis
◉ What is a buboe? Answer: Buboes are smooth, enlarged,
reddened, and painfully inflamed lymph nodes.
◉ How does transmission occur? Answer: Fleas are the vectors for
the spread of the bacteria. Infected fleas that have left their normal
animal hosts can spread plague to humans.
◉ What type of plague has the highest mortality? Answer:
pneumonic plague: spread to lungs (or through inhalation)
,◉ Can plague be treated? Answer: Yes, streptomycin and tetracycline
are effective against Yersinia.
◉ Name the bacteria that cause Lyme disease? Answer: Borrelia
burdorferi (gram - rod)
◉ How is it transmitted? Answer: ticks (biological vector)
◉ Is a bull's eye rash always seen? What is that? Answer: No, 80% of
patients have the bull's eye rash at the site of infection. It is
erythema migrans.
◉ Can it be treated? Answer: Yes, penicillins, tetracyclines, or
cephalosporins are effective in the first phase, later phases are
difficult to treat.
◉ What are some late manifestations of the disease? Answer:
headache, fatigue, in small % nervous (CNS) and cardiovascular
symptoms, eventually chronic arthritis
◉ How is Rocky Mountain spotted fever transmitted? Answer: ticks
(biological vectors)
◉ Which bacterium causes the disease? Answer: Rickettsia
, ◉ What type of rash is seen? Answer: subcuaneous hemorrhages
known as petechiae
◉ What are other symptoms? Answer: fever, headache, chills, muscle
pain, nausea and vomitting
◉ How serious is the disease? Answer: Early diagnosis is crucial
because prompt treatment often makes the difference between
recovery and death. It is impossible to eliminate the ticks in the wild,
in part because they can survive without feeding for more than four
years.
◉ What is the cause of "mono?" Answer: Bacteria = Epstein Barr
Virus; "Mono" is a result of a patient's cellular immune system with
an infected WBC.
◉ Which cells are involved? Answer: After initially infecting
epithelial cells of the throat and salivary glands, Epstein-Barr virus
enters the blood, where it invades B lymphocytes (WBC).
◉ Characterize the virus that causes this disease: Answer: EBV is an
enveloped, double-stranded DNA virus that replicates in a host's
cell's nucleus.
EXAM PAPER 2026 QUESTIONS WITH
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◉ What is the cause of endotoxic shock? Answer: Dying gram-
negative bacteria disintegrate, releasing endotoxin, which is the lipid
A portion of LPS from the outer membrane, into the blood.
◉ What is the cause of puerperal fever? Answer: Puerperal refers to
the period immediately after childbirth. Puerperal fever is caused by
Strep pyogenes, which is usually harmless on the skin or in the
mouth but causes severe complications when it enters the blood.
Bacteria pass uterine wall into the blood.
◉ Explain how rheumatic fever develops. What type of
hypersensitivity is that? Answer: Rheumatic fever only occurs in 3%
of the cases of people who have had a strep infection. It develops as
a result of an autoimmune response. The antibodies directed against
streptococcal antigens cross-react with heart antigens which then
affect the valves of the heart. This is type 3 immune complex
hypersensitivity.
◉ Name three types of bacteria that cause acute bacterial
endocarditis: Answer: 1) Viridians sreptococcus
2) Staph aureus
,3) Strep pneumonia
many other bacteria
◉ What causes "cat-scratch fever?" Answer: Bartonella
◉ Name the signs of cat scratch fever: Answer: swelling where
scratched or bit, lymph node involvement
◉ What does it mean that the disease ofter is "subclinical?" Answer:
The disease may go unnoticed because of the absence of symptoms,
even though clinical tests reveal signs of disease.
◉ Name the causative agent in plague: Answer: Yersinia pestis
◉ What is a buboe? Answer: Buboes are smooth, enlarged,
reddened, and painfully inflamed lymph nodes.
◉ How does transmission occur? Answer: Fleas are the vectors for
the spread of the bacteria. Infected fleas that have left their normal
animal hosts can spread plague to humans.
◉ What type of plague has the highest mortality? Answer:
pneumonic plague: spread to lungs (or through inhalation)
,◉ Can plague be treated? Answer: Yes, streptomycin and tetracycline
are effective against Yersinia.
◉ Name the bacteria that cause Lyme disease? Answer: Borrelia
burdorferi (gram - rod)
◉ How is it transmitted? Answer: ticks (biological vector)
◉ Is a bull's eye rash always seen? What is that? Answer: No, 80% of
patients have the bull's eye rash at the site of infection. It is
erythema migrans.
◉ Can it be treated? Answer: Yes, penicillins, tetracyclines, or
cephalosporins are effective in the first phase, later phases are
difficult to treat.
◉ What are some late manifestations of the disease? Answer:
headache, fatigue, in small % nervous (CNS) and cardiovascular
symptoms, eventually chronic arthritis
◉ How is Rocky Mountain spotted fever transmitted? Answer: ticks
(biological vectors)
◉ Which bacterium causes the disease? Answer: Rickettsia
, ◉ What type of rash is seen? Answer: subcuaneous hemorrhages
known as petechiae
◉ What are other symptoms? Answer: fever, headache, chills, muscle
pain, nausea and vomitting
◉ How serious is the disease? Answer: Early diagnosis is crucial
because prompt treatment often makes the difference between
recovery and death. It is impossible to eliminate the ticks in the wild,
in part because they can survive without feeding for more than four
years.
◉ What is the cause of "mono?" Answer: Bacteria = Epstein Barr
Virus; "Mono" is a result of a patient's cellular immune system with
an infected WBC.
◉ Which cells are involved? Answer: After initially infecting
epithelial cells of the throat and salivary glands, Epstein-Barr virus
enters the blood, where it invades B lymphocytes (WBC).
◉ Characterize the virus that causes this disease: Answer: EBV is an
enveloped, double-stranded DNA virus that replicates in a host's
cell's nucleus.
