Infection

Question 1

What are the major groups of infectious agents?

Answer 1

Protozoa, fungus, bacteria, virus, prion

These groups represent the primary categories of microbes that can cause infections.

Question 2

What is the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms?

Answer 2

Prokaryotes do not have membrane-bound genetic material

Prokaryotes include bacteria, while eukaryotes include fungi and protozoa.

Question 3

What is the difference between aerobic and anaerobic organisms?

Answer 3

Aerobic needs O2 to survive, anaerobic can survive without O2

Question 4

What is a microbe?

Answer 4

Organisms/agents that are normally too small to see with the unaided eye

Question 5

Where are microbes normally not present in the body?

Answer 5

Blood, fat, organs

Question 6

What is a virus?

Answer 6

A non-living microbe composed of protein and a genome, can have DNA or RNA, obligate parasites that need a living host cell to replicate

Question 7

What is a prion?

Answer 7

Misfolded proteins, e.g., mad cow disease

Question 8

What characterizes bacteria?

Answer 8

Single-celled organisms that may or may not need oxygen to survive

Question 9

What is the structure of Gram-positive bacteria?

Answer 9

Thick peptidoglycan cell wall

Question 10

What is the structure of Gram-negative bacteria?

Answer 10

Lipopolysaccharide that can degrade to produce endotoxin

Question 11

What are virulence factors?

Answer 11

Specific characteristics that enable microbes to cause harm

Question 12

Define infection.

Answer 12

Microorganisms penetrate and invade tissues and usually multiply, may cause infectious disease without invasion

Question 13

What is the difference between colonization and infection?

Answer 13

Colonization: microbes establish presence without penetrating tissues; Infection: causes damage and/or disruption to tissues

Question 14

What is an acute disease?

Answer 14

Rapid onset of disease, typically does not recur once resolved

Question 15

What is a chronic disease?

Answer 15

Infection occurs with the pathogen remaining at high levels in the body, can be transmitted before symptoms appear

Question 16

What is a latent disease?

Answer 16

Initial acute infection is not entirely resolved; the microbe becomes dormant

Question 17

What is the incubation period?

Answer 17

Period when the pathogen infects tissues, may spread, with no signs and symptoms yet

Question 18

What is the prodromal period?

Answer 18

Generalized signs and symptoms that are not specific to the infection

Question 19

What is the height of illness?

Answer 19

Disease-specific signs and symptoms caused by the pathogen

Question 20

What is convalescence?

Answer 20

Recovery period where pathogen numbers decrease within the body

Question 21

What are true pathogens?

Answer 21

Microbes that invade tissue and can cause morbidity/mortality

Question 22

What are opportunistic pathogens?

Answer 22

Commensals that can turn into pathogens in immunocompromised individuals

Question 23

What is Clostridium difficile (C. diff)?

Answer 23

A bacterium that can cause diarrhea, found in ~20% of adult GI tract, cannot survive in oxygen

Question 24

What are the symptoms of C. Diff?

Answer 24

Diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever

Question 25

What is MRSA?

Answer 25

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Question 26

What is a healthcare-associated infection (HAI)?

Answer 26

Infection during healthcare stay or occurs 3 days post-discharge

Question 27

What is the chain of transmission?

Answer 27

Links between agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, susceptible host

Question 28

What is dysbiosis?

Answer 28

A microbial imbalance where one or few microbes grow unchecked

Question 29

What conditions favor microbial growth?

Answer 29

Moist environment, warmth, dirt

Question 30

What is the infectious dose?

Answer 30

Minimum number of pathogen cells needed for statistical likelihood of infection

Question 31

What is the difference between HAIs and community-acquired infections (CAIs)?

Answer 31

HAIs occur during healthcare stay; CAIs occur in the community

Question 32

What is symbiotic commensalism?

Answer 32

One organism benefits while the other is unaffected

Question 33

Fill in the blank: A disease is any condition where the normal structure and function of the body are _______.

Answer 33

impaired

Question 34

What is an iatrogenic disease?

Answer 34

Result of a medical procedure

Question 35

What is zoonotic disease?

Answer 35

Disease transmitted from animals to humans

Question 36

What is the period of communicability?

Answer 36

Stage of infection when a patient is most likely to transmit the disease

Question 37

What is the role of sanitization in infection control?

Answer 37

Reduces microbial numbers below the pathogen’s infectious dose

Question 38

How is Staph. A spread?

Answer 38

contact and through food

Question 39

How can gram negative bacteria cause disease?

Answer 39

there is an increased risk of severe fever/shock because it is an endotoxin

Question 40

What is an example of a protozoa?

Answer 40

giardia

Question 41

What are the virulence factors of C diff?

Answer 41

1. receptor proteins that start growth when bile salts are detected 2. Toxin A 3. Spores 4. Antibiotic resistance

Question 42

What is microbial antagonism?

Answer 42

protects us by making it difficult for other microbes to colonize

Question 43

True or false: a person infected with a chronic disease can transmit it without being symptomatic

Answer 43

true

Question 44

can someone transmit a disease when the microbe is in a dormant state?

Answer 44

no

Question 45

What are the four stages of infection?

Answer 45

incubation, prodromal, height of illness, convalescence

Question 46

When is the period of communicability?

Answer 46

when the disease can be transmitted from the tail end of the incubation period to after convalescence

Question 47

What are four routes of transmission?

Answer 47

respiratory, fecal-oral, parenteral, genitourinary

Question 48

what is a fomite?

Answer 48

touchable surface that can transmit disease

Question 49

where do droplet transmitted pathogens infect

Answer 49

upper resp tract

Question 50

where do airborne transmitted pathogens infect?

Answer 50

lower resp tract

Question 51

What PPE should you wear for contact precautions?

Answer 51

gown and gloves (no mask and eye protection unless splash risk)

Question 52

What PPE should you wear for droplet precautions?

Answer 52

mask, eye protection, gown and gloves

Question 53

What is the correct order for donning PPE?

Answer 53

gown, mask, eye protection, gloves

Question 54

What is the correct order for doffing PPE?

Answer 54

gloves, gown, eye protection, mask (hand hygiene between each step)

Question 55

When are the four moments for hand hygiene?

Answer 55

Before contacting the pt, before aseptic procedure, after body fluid exposure risk, after leaving pt environment

Question 56

What is the correct PPE for airborne precautions?

Answer 56

gown, gloves, N95 respirator