Chapter 26: Communicable Disease
Chapter 26: Communicable Disease
Nies: Community/Public Health Nursing, 7th Edition
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which infection continues to increase in the United States?
a. Measles
b. Pertussis
c. Hepatitis A, B, and C
d. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
ANS: D
Treatable STDs, such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis, are still occurring at significant
rates. Gonorrhea had plateaued or declined until 2009 but increased steadily since that time.
Chlamydia, the most commonly reported bacterial disease in the United States, reached
1,441,789 cases in 2014, although some of this increase is thought to be the result of improved
screening for the infection,
DIF: Cognitive Level: Remember (Knowledge)
2. Which best describes what is happening with infectious diseases in the United States?
a. There is a continuing decrease in vector-borne infections.
b. There is a continuing increase in food-borne and waterborne infections.
c. Many airborne diseases are being spread by bioterrorists.
d. The rate of infection varies extensively by income and ethnic groups.
ANS: D
Probably one of the most profound failures in infectious disease control in the United States
and elsewhere is that the successes are not equally distributed in the general population.
Infectious diseases continue to be differentially distributed by income and ethnic groups, and
the poor and minorities continue to experience the greater burden. There continues to be an
increase in vector-borne infections, but there has been a decrease in food-borne and
waterborne infections. There is concern that deadly pathogens will be weaponized by
terrorists.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Understand (Comprehension)
3. Which is a fairly recent surprise regarding infectious diseases in the United States?
a. Cervical cancer and coronary artery disease may be caused by infectious agents.
b. Epidemics such as the H1N1 flu continue to occur.
c. Mortality caused by infectious diseases continues to rise.
d. Some infectious diseases remain endemic in our society.
ANS: A
1
, Chapter 26: Communicable Disease
Recent scientific discoveries on the infectious etiology of stomach ulcers, coronary artery
disease, and cervical cancer, for example, suggest that infectious agents may be responsible
for more morbidity and mortality than previously recognized. Mortality caused by infectious
diseases has decreased. Endemic refers to a disease that is regularly found among people in a
certain area. In our society today, there are no endemic infectious diseases. Advances in
public health and health care have made it easier to control infectious diseases such as H1N1
flu.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Understand (Comprehension)
4. A female client develops a fungal vaginal infection after being treated with antibiotics for
strep throat. Which component of the epidemiological triangle is primarily responsible?
a. Agent
b. Environment
c. Host
d. Interaction of agent and environment
ANS: C
Infectious diseases are the result of interaction among the human host, an infectious agent,
and the environment, which surrounds the human host and where transmission is occurring.
This interaction is pictured in the epidemiological triad of agent, host, and environment also
discussed in Chapter 5. The antibiotic therapy eliminated a specific pathological agent, but it
also may alter the balance of normally occurring organisms in the woman’s body, which
caused a change in the vaginal environment, allowing normally present fungi to proliferate,
resulting in a yeast infection.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Analyze (Analysis) B.C M
N R I G
5. Which statement is true concerning tuberculosis (TB) infections in the United States?
a. Subclinical cases of TB can occur in patients who fight off the infection and thus
are not a danger to themselves or others.
b. TB can be cured by a 6-month period of treatment with INH.
c. TB can only be caused by the Mycobacterium bovis bacillus.
d. Under certain conditions, susceptible hosts may be infected by the TB bacillus.
ANS: D
The principle of multicausation emphasizes that an infectious agent alone is not sufficient to
cause disease; the agent must be transmitted within a conducive environment to a susceptible
host. Mycobacterium tuberculosis kills cells. M. tuberculosis has low infectivity, low
pathogenicity, but high virulence if untreated.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Understand (Comprehension)
6. One child in a kindergarten room had a slight fever and did not eat lunch. Otherwise, the child
seemed OK. Three days later, several children were absent from kindergarten. Which best
describes what happened?
a. Another nursery school was offering the same child care at a much lower price.
b. Infectious diseases can be contagious before any diagnostic symptoms occur.
c. No way to tell; there are many reasons why parents keep children home.
d. Parents chose to protect their children from the child with a fever, so they kept
their children home for a few days.
2
Chapter 26: Communicable Disease
Nies: Community/Public Health Nursing, 7th Edition
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which infection continues to increase in the United States?
a. Measles
b. Pertussis
c. Hepatitis A, B, and C
d. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
ANS: D
Treatable STDs, such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis, are still occurring at significant
rates. Gonorrhea had plateaued or declined until 2009 but increased steadily since that time.
Chlamydia, the most commonly reported bacterial disease in the United States, reached
1,441,789 cases in 2014, although some of this increase is thought to be the result of improved
screening for the infection,
DIF: Cognitive Level: Remember (Knowledge)
2. Which best describes what is happening with infectious diseases in the United States?
a. There is a continuing decrease in vector-borne infections.
b. There is a continuing increase in food-borne and waterborne infections.
c. Many airborne diseases are being spread by bioterrorists.
d. The rate of infection varies extensively by income and ethnic groups.
ANS: D
Probably one of the most profound failures in infectious disease control in the United States
and elsewhere is that the successes are not equally distributed in the general population.
Infectious diseases continue to be differentially distributed by income and ethnic groups, and
the poor and minorities continue to experience the greater burden. There continues to be an
increase in vector-borne infections, but there has been a decrease in food-borne and
waterborne infections. There is concern that deadly pathogens will be weaponized by
terrorists.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Understand (Comprehension)
3. Which is a fairly recent surprise regarding infectious diseases in the United States?
a. Cervical cancer and coronary artery disease may be caused by infectious agents.
b. Epidemics such as the H1N1 flu continue to occur.
c. Mortality caused by infectious diseases continues to rise.
d. Some infectious diseases remain endemic in our society.
ANS: A
1
, Chapter 26: Communicable Disease
Recent scientific discoveries on the infectious etiology of stomach ulcers, coronary artery
disease, and cervical cancer, for example, suggest that infectious agents may be responsible
for more morbidity and mortality than previously recognized. Mortality caused by infectious
diseases has decreased. Endemic refers to a disease that is regularly found among people in a
certain area. In our society today, there are no endemic infectious diseases. Advances in
public health and health care have made it easier to control infectious diseases such as H1N1
flu.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Understand (Comprehension)
4. A female client develops a fungal vaginal infection after being treated with antibiotics for
strep throat. Which component of the epidemiological triangle is primarily responsible?
a. Agent
b. Environment
c. Host
d. Interaction of agent and environment
ANS: C
Infectious diseases are the result of interaction among the human host, an infectious agent,
and the environment, which surrounds the human host and where transmission is occurring.
This interaction is pictured in the epidemiological triad of agent, host, and environment also
discussed in Chapter 5. The antibiotic therapy eliminated a specific pathological agent, but it
also may alter the balance of normally occurring organisms in the woman’s body, which
caused a change in the vaginal environment, allowing normally present fungi to proliferate,
resulting in a yeast infection.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Analyze (Analysis) B.C M
N R I G
5. Which statement is true concerning tuberculosis (TB) infections in the United States?
a. Subclinical cases of TB can occur in patients who fight off the infection and thus
are not a danger to themselves or others.
b. TB can be cured by a 6-month period of treatment with INH.
c. TB can only be caused by the Mycobacterium bovis bacillus.
d. Under certain conditions, susceptible hosts may be infected by the TB bacillus.
ANS: D
The principle of multicausation emphasizes that an infectious agent alone is not sufficient to
cause disease; the agent must be transmitted within a conducive environment to a susceptible
host. Mycobacterium tuberculosis kills cells. M. tuberculosis has low infectivity, low
pathogenicity, but high virulence if untreated.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Understand (Comprehension)
6. One child in a kindergarten room had a slight fever and did not eat lunch. Otherwise, the child
seemed OK. Three days later, several children were absent from kindergarten. Which best
describes what happened?
a. Another nursery school was offering the same child care at a much lower price.
b. Infectious diseases can be contagious before any diagnostic symptoms occur.
c. No way to tell; there are many reasons why parents keep children home.
d. Parents chose to protect their children from the child with a fever, so they kept
their children home for a few days.
2
