WGU D311 MICROBIOLOGY UPDATED EXAMS SCRIPT
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS MARKED A+
✔✔Which action refers to a secondary infection? - ✔✔An infection by one pathogen
enables another pathogen to cause an infection.
✔✔What differentiates signs from symptoms of disease? - ✔✔Signs are measurable;
symptoms are subjective.
✔✔Which procedure does a clinician use to measure a symptom? - ✔✔Asking patients
to rate pain on a numerical scale
✔✔During which stage of an infection does a patient feel the worst? - ✔✔The period of
illness stage
✔✔What defines the end of the incubation period for an infectious disease? - ✔✔The
appearance of nonspecific signs or symptoms of disease
✔✔How does the epidermis help prevent infection and disease? - ✔✔It provides a
harsh environment for most pathogens and periodically sheds
✔✔How does the complement system contribute to the innate immune response? -
✔✔It is composed of proteins that can be activated by the presence of pathogens to
form the membrane attack complex (MAC).
✔✔Why are antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) considered an innate immune function? -
✔✔AMPs are produced both routinely and as a response to pathogens.
✔✔Which terms refer to monocytes when they differentiate into tissue-specific
phagocytes? - ✔✔Macrophages and dendritic cells
✔✔What is specifically being reported if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
reports 10,000 new cases of COVID-19? - ✔✔Incidence
✔✔What is the difference between prevalence and incidence? - ✔✔Prevalence refers to
the total number of infections; incidence refers only to new cases.
✔✔Which term refers to a disease that occurs on a worldwide scale at a given time? -
✔✔Pandemic
✔✔Why are etiologic agents significant to epidemiologists? - ✔✔Etiologic agents are
the pathogens that cause disease.
,✔✔Which kind of diseases must be reported to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention in order to prevent future pandemics? - ✔✔Notifiable diseases
✔✔How does the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) obtain the latest
data on typical illnesses to publish in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
(MMWR)? - ✔✔Through mandatory reporting of notifiable disease cases by healthcare
providers
✔✔What can cause an infectious disease to become a reemerging disease? - ✔✔The
responsible pathogen becomes drug resistant.
✔✔What does the World Health Organization (WHO) do to prevent future pandemics? -
✔✔The WHO maintains a global alert and response system from data from multiple
countries.
✔✔A patient taking the antibiotic cephalexin for a urinary tract infection developed
severe diarrhea two days after completing the five-day course of treatment.
What is an explanation for the development of this patient's diarrhea? - ✔✔Cephalexin
disrupted the normal intestinal microbiome.
✔✔Store-bought, packaged soil used to promote rapid plant growth was accidentally
irradiated, thus killing the bacteria that had been in the soil.
Which impact would this have on farmers? - ✔✔Plants would die due to a lack of
absorbable forms of nitrogen and phosphorus.
✔✔A hospital infection preventionist has instituted a policy to prevent nosocomial
infections.
Which guideline is an effective component of this policy? - ✔✔Healthcare personnel
must wear personal protective equipment at all times.
✔✔A family and its dog were hiking and swimming in the woods. Two days later, each
family member developed a large bull's-eye lesion on their arm, and the dog became
anorexic and lethargic.
Which control measure will be helpful to prevent the development of a future infection
caused by the same microorganism? - ✔✔The family immediately checks themselves
and the dog for ticks after returning home.
✔✔A veterinarian diagnoses a dog with a zoonotic bacterial infection.
Which precautions should the veterinarian advise for the caretaker? - ✔✔Wash hands
after touching the dog
✔✔Viral epidemics concern public health department officials because some infected
people do not show signs or symptoms of infection, whereas others have prolonged
prodromal periods.
, What should public health officials do to minimize these causes for concern? - ✔✔Test
people who are asymptomatic
✔✔A contagious respiratory feline virus may reactivate a latent infection months to
years after an initial infection.
Which implication does this have for the management of cats in animal shelters? -
✔✔Cats entering the shelter should be isolated from other sheltered cats.
✔✔Two spouses present to the emergency department because of difficulty swallowing,
facial weakness on both sides of the face, and trouble breathing after consumption of
spaghetti sauce made from canned tomatoes. The physician is aware of reports of
similarly affected patients in nearby communities.
What should be the physician's next step after treating these patients? - ✔✔Contact the
state department of public health
✔✔The varicella-zoster virus (chicken pox) is endemic in the United States.
What should physicians do to optimally minimize the risk of disease due to this virus? -
✔✔Vaccinate those who have not already had chicken pox
✔✔Miami-Dade County public health officials confirmed transmission of Zika virus by
the local Aedes aegypti mosquito, but the virus had been previously transmitted by
mosquitoes only in Latin America and South America, where the virus is endemic.
What can be done to mitigate the spread of the Zika virus so that it does not become
endemic in the United States? - ✔✔Remove outdoor objects that may accumulate water
because they serve as mosquito reservoirs
✔✔Which factor determines the level of bioburden (microbial level) allowed and,
therefore, the microbial controls required for items used in a general healthcare setting?
- ✔✔The application or use of the item
✔✔Which laboratory biosafety level would be used for managing work with an organism
of moderate risk that is native to the local area? - ✔✔BSL-2
✔✔Which microbial control type can be used to completely eliminate all vegetative
bacteria, endospores, fungi, and viruses from an inanimate item? - ✔✔Sterilization
✔✔Which term describes the area specially created and maintained for performing
medical procedures that carry risk from contamination? - ✔✔Sterile field
✔✔Which physical method of control works by removing microorganisms from a liquid?
- ✔✔Filtration
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS MARKED A+
✔✔Which action refers to a secondary infection? - ✔✔An infection by one pathogen
enables another pathogen to cause an infection.
✔✔What differentiates signs from symptoms of disease? - ✔✔Signs are measurable;
symptoms are subjective.
✔✔Which procedure does a clinician use to measure a symptom? - ✔✔Asking patients
to rate pain on a numerical scale
✔✔During which stage of an infection does a patient feel the worst? - ✔✔The period of
illness stage
✔✔What defines the end of the incubation period for an infectious disease? - ✔✔The
appearance of nonspecific signs or symptoms of disease
✔✔How does the epidermis help prevent infection and disease? - ✔✔It provides a
harsh environment for most pathogens and periodically sheds
✔✔How does the complement system contribute to the innate immune response? -
✔✔It is composed of proteins that can be activated by the presence of pathogens to
form the membrane attack complex (MAC).
✔✔Why are antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) considered an innate immune function? -
✔✔AMPs are produced both routinely and as a response to pathogens.
✔✔Which terms refer to monocytes when they differentiate into tissue-specific
phagocytes? - ✔✔Macrophages and dendritic cells
✔✔What is specifically being reported if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
reports 10,000 new cases of COVID-19? - ✔✔Incidence
✔✔What is the difference between prevalence and incidence? - ✔✔Prevalence refers to
the total number of infections; incidence refers only to new cases.
✔✔Which term refers to a disease that occurs on a worldwide scale at a given time? -
✔✔Pandemic
✔✔Why are etiologic agents significant to epidemiologists? - ✔✔Etiologic agents are
the pathogens that cause disease.
,✔✔Which kind of diseases must be reported to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention in order to prevent future pandemics? - ✔✔Notifiable diseases
✔✔How does the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) obtain the latest
data on typical illnesses to publish in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
(MMWR)? - ✔✔Through mandatory reporting of notifiable disease cases by healthcare
providers
✔✔What can cause an infectious disease to become a reemerging disease? - ✔✔The
responsible pathogen becomes drug resistant.
✔✔What does the World Health Organization (WHO) do to prevent future pandemics? -
✔✔The WHO maintains a global alert and response system from data from multiple
countries.
✔✔A patient taking the antibiotic cephalexin for a urinary tract infection developed
severe diarrhea two days after completing the five-day course of treatment.
What is an explanation for the development of this patient's diarrhea? - ✔✔Cephalexin
disrupted the normal intestinal microbiome.
✔✔Store-bought, packaged soil used to promote rapid plant growth was accidentally
irradiated, thus killing the bacteria that had been in the soil.
Which impact would this have on farmers? - ✔✔Plants would die due to a lack of
absorbable forms of nitrogen and phosphorus.
✔✔A hospital infection preventionist has instituted a policy to prevent nosocomial
infections.
Which guideline is an effective component of this policy? - ✔✔Healthcare personnel
must wear personal protective equipment at all times.
✔✔A family and its dog were hiking and swimming in the woods. Two days later, each
family member developed a large bull's-eye lesion on their arm, and the dog became
anorexic and lethargic.
Which control measure will be helpful to prevent the development of a future infection
caused by the same microorganism? - ✔✔The family immediately checks themselves
and the dog for ticks after returning home.
✔✔A veterinarian diagnoses a dog with a zoonotic bacterial infection.
Which precautions should the veterinarian advise for the caretaker? - ✔✔Wash hands
after touching the dog
✔✔Viral epidemics concern public health department officials because some infected
people do not show signs or symptoms of infection, whereas others have prolonged
prodromal periods.
, What should public health officials do to minimize these causes for concern? - ✔✔Test
people who are asymptomatic
✔✔A contagious respiratory feline virus may reactivate a latent infection months to
years after an initial infection.
Which implication does this have for the management of cats in animal shelters? -
✔✔Cats entering the shelter should be isolated from other sheltered cats.
✔✔Two spouses present to the emergency department because of difficulty swallowing,
facial weakness on both sides of the face, and trouble breathing after consumption of
spaghetti sauce made from canned tomatoes. The physician is aware of reports of
similarly affected patients in nearby communities.
What should be the physician's next step after treating these patients? - ✔✔Contact the
state department of public health
✔✔The varicella-zoster virus (chicken pox) is endemic in the United States.
What should physicians do to optimally minimize the risk of disease due to this virus? -
✔✔Vaccinate those who have not already had chicken pox
✔✔Miami-Dade County public health officials confirmed transmission of Zika virus by
the local Aedes aegypti mosquito, but the virus had been previously transmitted by
mosquitoes only in Latin America and South America, where the virus is endemic.
What can be done to mitigate the spread of the Zika virus so that it does not become
endemic in the United States? - ✔✔Remove outdoor objects that may accumulate water
because they serve as mosquito reservoirs
✔✔Which factor determines the level of bioburden (microbial level) allowed and,
therefore, the microbial controls required for items used in a general healthcare setting?
- ✔✔The application or use of the item
✔✔Which laboratory biosafety level would be used for managing work with an organism
of moderate risk that is native to the local area? - ✔✔BSL-2
✔✔Which microbial control type can be used to completely eliminate all vegetative
bacteria, endospores, fungi, and viruses from an inanimate item? - ✔✔Sterilization
✔✔Which term describes the area specially created and maintained for performing
medical procedures that carry risk from contamination? - ✔✔Sterile field
✔✔Which physical method of control works by removing microorganisms from a liquid?
- ✔✔Filtration
