Final

Question 1

What causes scurvy, and how was it historically treated?

Answer 1

Lack of vitamin C; cured by citrus in sailors’ diets.

Question 2

What is beriberi and its cause?

Answer 2

A disease meaning “I cannot”; caused by thiamin (vitamin B1) deficiency.

Question 3

What is the cause of rickets?

Answer 3

Vitamin D deficiency, especially in urban children.

Question 4

Who helped identify the cause of pernicious anemia?

Answer 4

George Minot; later found to be vitamin B12 deficiency.

Question 5

What did Lucy Wills discover in treating anemia?

Answer 5

Marmite cured anemia in pregnant women; folic acid (vitamin B9) was the active agent.

Question 6

What key invention by Wilhelm Röntgen revolutionized TB diagnosis?

Answer 6

X-rays, discovered in 1895.

Question 7

What is artificial pneumothorax and who developed it?

Answer 7

TB treatment by collapsing lungs to “rest” them; developed by Carlo Forlanini

Question 8

What did Thomas Mann write that referenced TB sanatoria?

Answer 8

The Magic Mountain, referencing “The Half-Lung Club.”

Question 9

What was the Lübeck disaster?

Answer 9

1930 TB vaccine contamination in Germany; 73 infant deaths.

Question 10

Who proved bovine TB is transmissible to humans?

Answer 10

Koch was proven wrong; human infections came from cows via milk

Question 11

Who discovered penicillin and when?

Answer 11

Alexander Fleming, 1928.

Question 12

Why wasn’t penicillin useful against TB?

Answer 12

It didn’t kill the TB bacterium.

Question 13

Who discovered para-aminosalicylic acid (PAS) and treated Sigrid?

Answer 13

Jörgen Lehmann.

Question 14

Who discovered streptomycin and helped cure Patricia Thomas?

Answer 14

Albert Schatz and Selman Waksman; tested by Feldman and Hinshaw.

Question 15

What method did Austin Bradford Hill pioneer?

Answer 15

Randomized clinical trials (first used with streptomycin).

Question 16

What was the third “magic bullet” against TB?

Answer 16

Isoniazid—effective, cheap, and easy to produce.

Question 17

What does poliomyelitis mean?

Answer 17

Inflammation of the grey matter of the spinal cord.

Question 18

Who discovered polio was a virus?

Answer 18

Karl Landsteiner and Erwin Popper, 1908.

Question 19

What was the role of flies in polio research?

Answer 19

Investigated as potential vectors; collected for Yale studies.

Question 20

What was Franklin D. Roosevelt’s connection to polio?

Answer 20

Believed to have polio; founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (later March of Dimes).

Question 21

Who developed the polio vaccine supported by Roosevelt’s foundation?

Answer 21

Jonas Salk.

Question 22

Why were electron microscopes essential in studying polio?

Answer 22

The polio virus was invisible to optical microscopes, requiring electron microscopes for observation.

Question 23

How was it discovered that there were multiple types of the polio virus?

Answer 23

Experiments on monkeys in the 1930s–40s showed reinfection, revealing three types of polio virus.

Question 24

What challenge had to be overcome to develop a polio vaccine?

Answer 24

: Scientists had to find a way to culture the virus, which was achieved in the late 1940s.

Question 25

Who developed the first polio vaccine, and how did it work?

Answer 25

Jonas Salk (1914–1995) created it in Pittsburgh using a killed/inactivated virus; it required injections and boosters

Question 26

When did the Salk vaccine become available, and what was the public reception?

Answer 26

Released in 1955; it gained popularity partly due to a rock star being vaccinated live on TV.

Question 27

What was the Cutter Incident in 1955?

Answer 27

200,000 children received a defective Salk vaccine batch; 40,000 got polio, 200 were paralyzed, and 10 died. Cutter Laboratories was at fault.

Question 28

What was the result of the Cutter Incident?

Answer 28

The Salk vaccine rollout was paused and eventually phased out in favor of the Sabin vaccine

Question 29

Who developed the second polio vaccine and how did it differ?

Answer 29

Albert Sabin (1906–1993) created an oral vaccine using live attenuated virus, easier to administer with one dose.

Question 30

Why did the Sabin vaccine eventually replace the Salk vaccine?

Answer 30

It was safer after the Cutter incident and easier to administer, though it carried rare risks of reverting to virulence

Question 31

Where was the Sabin vaccine tested, and how were participants compensated?

Answer 31

Tested on inmates at Chillicothe Reformatory, Ohio; they were paid $25 and given 3 days off.

Question 32

Name famous polio survivors.

Answer 32

Itzhak Perlman, Frida Kahlo, Mitch McConnell, Mia Farrow

Question 33

What was the goal of the polio eradication campaign launched in 1988?

Answer 33

To eliminate polio globally by 2000. Though not met, cases have dropped 99%.

Question 34

What are vaccine-derived polio viruses?

Answer 34

Mutated forms of live vaccine virus that, in under-immunized areas, can cause outbreaks.

Question 35

What signaled the emergence of AIDS in 1981?

Answer 35

Reports of rare infections and cancers like Kaposi sarcoma in gay men, signaling immune suppression.

Question 36

What does HIV/AIDS stand for, and what was its outdated name?

Answer 36

Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. Originally called GRID (Gay-Related Immunodeficiency).

Question 37

Who discovered HIV?

Answer 37

Luc Montagnier & Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (Paris), and Robert Gallo (USA) in 1983.

Question 38

Why were clinical drug trials for AIDS difficult?

Answer 38

They were slow, costly, and required thousands of volunteers, delaying drug availability

Question 39

Describe the five phases of clinical trials.?

Answer 39

* Pre-clinical: non-human testing. * Phase I: small group tests for safety. * Phase II: 100–300 sick patients for efficacy and side effects. * Phase III: larger groups for safety & effectiveness. * Phase IV: post-market surveillance.

Question 40

How was social response to AIDS similar to that of leprosy?

Answer 40

Both involved stigmatization and exclusion of infected individuals.

Question 41

What is the cause of pellagra and where did it spread?

Answer 41

Severe lack of vitamin B3; Southern Europe, especially in maize-dependent diets

Question 42

What made HIV hard to treat?

Answer 42

It mutates rapidly, can lie dormant, and initially lacked effective therapies.

Question 43

What is PEPFAR?

Answer 43

U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, launched in 2003 by Dr. Anthony Fauci, providing over $85 billion in aid.

Question 44

What is the 90-90-90 target?

Answer 44

90% diagnosed, 90% treated, 90% virally suppressed among HIV-positive people.

Question 45

Who was Ryan White?

Answer 45

A teenager with hemophilia who contracted AIDS from a transfusion; became a symbol for AIDS education and anti-stigma efforts.

Question 46

What therapy breakthrough occurred in the mid-1990s for HIV?

Answer 46

Antiretroviral "cocktail" therapy turned AIDS into a chronic, manageable disease.

Question 47

What is ACT UP, and who founded it?

Answer 47

: A grassroots AIDS activist group founded in 1987 by Larry Kramer demanding urgent medical/political action.

Question 48

How has HIV impacted global health, especially in Africa?

Answer 48

Over 33 million deaths; Sub-Saharan Africa has ~70% of cases; ~27 million on treatment today.

Question 49

4. Briefly describe the five phases of clinical trials.

Answer 49

o Pre-clinical: Testing on animals and cells for safety and effectiveness. o Phase I: Small group of people (often healthy) test for toxicity and basic efficacy. o Phase II: 100–300 patients test for side effects and therapeutic effects. o Phase III: Hundreds or thousands test for broader safety, efficacy, and effectiveness. o Phase IV: Post-marketing monitoring for long-term effects in the general population.

Question 49

3. What were the problems with testing drugs for the epidemic?

Answer 49

Strict clinical trial protocols were slow, expensive, and required thousands of participants. While scientifically necessary, these delays frustrated dying patients who felt they had nothing to lose.

Question 49

What disparities exist in U.S. HIV prevalence?

Answer 49

Higher rates in the South, among racial/ethnic minorities, and men who have sex with men (MSM), especially Black and Latino MSM.

Question 49

How does HIV transmission occur?

Answer 49

Through bodily fluids (blood, semen, vaginal fluids); not via casual contact.

Question 50

1. What was interesting about how HIV/AIDS was discovered or noticed?

Answer 50

It was first noticed in 1981 when the CDC reported rare infections and cancers in gay men, signaling immune system failure. The unusual pattern led scientists to suspect a new infectious disease

Question 51

How was social response to AIDS similar to that of leprosy?

Answer 51

People with AIDS were stigmatized and isolated, much like leprosy patients in the past. Many faced rejection, misinformation, and public fear despite not posing casual-contact risks.

Question 52

7. What is PEPFAR, and what is the 90-90-90 target?

Answer 52

PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief): A U.S. global initiative launched in 2003 to combat HIV/AIDS, which has saved over 20 million lives. 90-90-90 target: By a certain year, the goal is that 90% of people with HIV know their status, 90% of those are on treatment, and 90% of those on treatment achieve viral suppression.