MICROBIOLOGY HOMEWORK SET A
(D) Formation of struvite kidney stones
NAME:
B___1. Vaccination against which bacterial species has been
most successful at reducing the number of cases of invasive
diseases, including meningitis?
(A) Escherichia coli K1
(B) Haemophilus influenzae b
(C) Listeria monocytogenes
(D) Neisseria meningitidis
(E) Streptococcus pneumoniae
D___2. A 56yo renal transplant patient was hospitalized due
to abrupt onset of high fever (39.6 °C), confusion, headache,
diarrhea, a cough productive of scant sputum, and shortness
of breath. He has hyponatremia. A chest xray showed lobar
infiltrates. Gm stain of sputum showed numerous neutrophils
only. A urine antigen test was positive for the causative
agent. What is the major virulence factor of the causative
agent?
(A) Antiphagocytic capsule (D) Intracellular growth
(B) Cord factor (E) Pyocyanin
(C) Exotoxin production
B___3.Physicians are investigating a cluster of acute diarrheal
cases in children who attend a preschool in a small
Midwestern town. The children presented with fever, acute
episodes of bloody diarrhea, and petechial rash or purpura.
Two of the children have scanty urine output and are
showing signs of renal failure. Fecal leukocytes and parasites
are absent in microscopic smears. What is the most common
infectious agent consistent with this clinical picture?
(A) Bacillus cereus
(B) Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC)
(C) Salmonella typhi
(D) Shigella fl exneri
(E) Yersinia enterocolitica
C___4. The preschool in the above case only serves
pasteurized milk and packaged cookies to the children and
epidemiologists quickly rule out a food source as the risk
factor. With this in mind, which of the following is the most
plausible means by which the children were infected?
(A) Contagious transmission from an infected child
(B) Drinking water of the preschool is contaminated with the
microbe
(C) Failure to wash hands after visiting a petting zoo
(D) Fecal–oral transmission, most likely from the restroom
(E) Visiting the elderly in an assisted-living or nursing home
facility
D___5. A 78yo hospitalized male with an indwelling catheter
develops a new onset of fever. The urine sample has an
alkaline pH. The bacterium isolated from the urine is a
urease-producing, highly motile, Gram-negative bacillus.
What is the most likely complication of this infection?
(A) Deposition of antigen–antibody complexes in
the glomeruli
(B) Development of epididymitis
(C) Development of prostatitis
(E) Rapid dissemination throughout the body
B___6. What is the pathogen most likely involved in the
above case?
(A) Escherichia coli (D) Staphylococcus saprophyticus
(B) Proteus mirabilis (E) Ureaplasma urealyticum
(C) Pseudomonas aeruginosa
B___7. Mycobacterium tuberculosis stains well with the acid-
fast stain, but not with the Gram stain. Which one of the
following is the most likely reason for this observation?
(A) It has a large number of pili that absorb the purple dye.
(B) It has a large amount of lipid that prevents entry of the
purple dye.
(C) It has a very thin cell wall that does not retain the purple
dye.
(D) It is too thin to be seen in the Gram stain.
(E) It has histones that are highly negatively charged
A___8. Which one of the following is the most accurate
description of the structural differences between gram-
positive bacteria and gram-negative bacteria?
(A) Gram-positive bacteria have a thick peptidoglycan layer,
whereas gram-negative bacteria have a thin layer.
(B) Gram-positive bacteria have an outer lipid-rich
membrane, whereas gram-negative bacteria do not.
(C) Gram-positive bacteria form a sex pilus that mediates
conjugation, whereas gram-negative bacteria do not.
(D) Gram-positive bacteria have plasmids, whereas gram-
negative bacteria do not.
(E) Gram-positive bacteria have capsules, whereas gram-
negative bacteria do not.
C___9. Lysozyme in tears is an effective mechanism for
preventing bacterial conjunctivitis. Which one of the
following bacterial structures does lysozyme degrade?
(A) Endotoxin (D) Pilus
(B) Nucleoid DNA (E) Plasmid DNA
(C) Peptidoglycan
E___10. Several bacteria that form spores are important
human pathogens. Which one of the following is the most
accurate statement about bacterial spores?
(A) They are killed by boiling for 15 minutes.
(B) They are produced primarily by gram-negative cocci.
(C) They are formed primarily when the bacterium is exposed
to antibiotics.
(D) They are produced by anaerobes only in the presence of
oxygen.
(E) They are metabolically inactive yet can survive for years in
that inactive state
D___11. Which of following culture media combination is/are
true except:
a. Thayer-Martin media: Gonorrhea
b. Chocolate agar: Enriched media
c. Lowenstein-Jensen medium: Mycobacterium tuberculosis
d. Mueller-Hinton agar: Corynebacterium diphtheriae
e. MacConkey’s agar: Nonlactose fermenters form colourless
colonies
B___12. Recommended transport medium for stool specimen
suspected to contain enteric pathogens is:
a. Amie’s medium
b. Buffered glycerol saline medium
c. MacConkey medium
d. Blood agar
D___13. Which one of the following is true:
a. Agar has nutrient properties
b. Chocolate medium is selective medium
c. Addition of selective substances in a solid medium
is called enrichment media
d. Nutrient broth is basal medium
C___14. Pick the true statement regarding Plasmids:
a. Nonself-replicative
b. Acts as Messenger RNA
c. Involved in Conjugational transfer between strains
d. Involved in transformation
C___15. Vaccination is based on the principle of:
a. Agglutination c. Immunological memory
b. Phagocytosis d. Clonal detection
B___16. An outbreak of Calicivirus occurs in a home for
disabled adults. What is an important characteristic of this
virus group that infl uences the occurrence of disease
outbreaks and their control and prevention?
(A) Long-term immunity after infection or vaccination
(B) Low infectious dose required for infection
(C) Susceptibility of the virus to chlorine cleaning agents
(D) Susceptibility of the virus to desiccation
(E) Transmission by inhalation of aerosolized virus particles
C___17. A new antiviral agent is found to prevent uncoating
in a number of different viruses. At which part in the
generalized virus replication cycle does uncoating occur?
(A) Attachment, Penetration, Replication, Assembly, Release,
Uncoating
(B) Attachment, Penetration, Replication, Assembly,
Uncoating, Release
(C) Attachment, Penetration, Uncoating, Replication,
Assembly, Release
(D) Attachment, Uncoating, Penetration, Assembly,
Replication, Release
(E) Uncoating, Attachment, Penetration, Replication,
Assembly, Release
A___18. A new immune modulator is developed which
enhances early immunologic responses to viral infection.
Which of the following is the earliest immunological event
that could be the target of this new drug?
(A) Activation of natural killer cells
(B) Activation of naïve viral-specifi c B cells
(C) Activation of naïve viral-specifi c T cells
(D) Antigen presentation by dendritic cells
(E) Production of IFN-γ by antiviral cytotoxic T cells
B___19. The 27yo pregnant mother of a child diagnosed
with erythema infectiosum is concerned for the health of her
fetus. What would be the most likely outcome of fetal
infection with the virus causing her child’s disease?
(A) Hydrocephalus (D) Microcephaly
(B) Hydrops fetalis (E) Patent ductus arteriosus
(C) Mental retardation
E___20. The effect on the fetus in the above question was
caused by virus replication in which fetal cells or tissues?
(A) Cells of the aortic arch
(B) Endothelial cells of the central nervous system
(C) Meninges
(D) Neurons of the developing nervous system
(E) Pre-erythrocytes
C___21. A newly diagnosed HIV-infected male is being
evaluated prior to being placed on antiretroviral therapy.
What technique is used to determine the number of CD4+
cells in his peripheral blood?
(A) Direct fl uorescent antibody test
(B) Enzyme-linked immunoassay
(C) Flow cytometry
(D) Immunoprecipitation
(E) Quantitative polymerase chain reaction
E___22. Amantadine is a drug used to reduce the ill effects
of an infl uenza virus A infection; however, increasing levels
of resistance have limited its usefulness. Resistant strains of
infl uenza A contain single amino acid substitutions in the M2
protein. With which aspect of the virus replication cycle is
this protein involved?
(A) Attachment (D) Release
(B) Genome replication (E) Uncoating
(C) Penetration
C___23. A prophylactic drug is being developed to prevent
infection of cells by M-tropic HIV strains following exposure
at mucosal sites (vagina, colon). M-tropic HIV strains
primarily infect which of the following cell types?
(A) Colonic mucosal cells (D) Mast cells
(B) Intestinal M cells (E) Vaginal mucosal cells
(C) Macrophages
B___24. In January, a 66yo woman presents a fever of 102 °F,
chills, back pain, headache, and marked fatigue. Her
physician prescribes oseltamivir and she rapidly recovers.
With which etiologic agent was she infected?
(A) Coronavirus (D) Respiratory syncytial virus
(B) Influenza virus (E) Varicella-zoster virus
(C) Parainfluenza virus
B___25. What is the mechanism of action of oseltamivir?
(A) Directly prevents replication of the viral genome
(B) Prevents the release of mature virions from the infected
host cell
(C) Inhibits the uncoating of the virus
(D) Inhibits the translocation of the viral genome to the
nucleus
(E) Binds directly to the virus RNA polymerase active site
C___26. Each of the following statements concerning kala-
azar is correct except:
a. Kala-azar is caused by Leishmania donovani
b. kala-azar is transmitted by the bite of sandflies
c. Kala-azar occurs primarily in rural latin America
d. Kala-azar can be diagnosed by finding amastigotes in bone
marrow
D___27. Each of the following statements concerning
hookworm infection is correct except:
a. Hookworm infection can cause pneumonia
b. Hookworm infection is acquired by humans when
filariform larvae penetrate the skin
c. Hookworm infection is caused by Necator americanus
d. Hookworm infection can be diagnosed by finding the
trophozoite in the stool
C___28. Each of the following statements concerning Giardia
lamblia is correct except:
a. G. lamblia has both a trophozoite and cyst stage in its life
cycle
b. G. lamblia is transmitted by the fecal oral route from both
human and animal sources
c. G. lamblia causes hemolytic anemia
d. G. lamblia can be diagnosed by the string test
D___29. A 6yo boy, who has a history of eating dirt while
playing in a park, develops a vision problem in one eye. An
opaqueness of pupil or leukokoria which prompted a visit to
the ophthalmologist. Funduscopic exam reveals a single
granulomatous lesion of the retina. Assuming that his ocular
condition is caused by a parasitic worm, what is most likely
the etiologic agent?
(A) Ancylostoma caninum (D) Toxocara canis
(B) Loa loa (E) Trichuris trichiura
(C) Onchocerca volvulus
A___30. With the exception of one, all peace corps
volunteers assigned to a remote village in African contract
vivax malaria. Which of the following volunteers is the person
who did not become infected with Plasmodium vivax?
(A) West African man
(B) Italian-American woman
(C) Mexican-American man from Texas
(D) Asian-American woman
(E) Central American man
D___31. An immigrant from eastern Asia develops a
cholangiocarcinoma. A fecal sample shows evidence of a
parasitic infection which the physician believes to be linked
to malignancy. What did the specimen reveal that led to this
conclusion?
(A) Ameba cyst (D) Fluke eggs
(B) Cryptosporidium oocysts (E) Nematode larvae
(C) Flagellated protozoan trophs
D___32. Which of the following modes of transmission
accounts for the development of neurocysticercosis in
humans?
(A) Ascarid eggs from soil
(B) Bladderworms in raw beef
(C) Cyclosporan oocysts in water
(D) Fecal-oral taeniid eggs
(E) Toxoplasma zoitocysts in raw pork
B___33. Surgical removal of a liver cyst about the size of a
tennis ball from a 45-year-old man reveals the presence of
protoscolices, allowing for a defi nitive diagnosis. The patient
likely acquired this infection by ingesting what?
(A) Cyst-contaminated raspberries grown in Guatemala
(B) Food or water contaminated with tapeworm eggs
(C) Undercooked calf liver containing hydatid sand
(D) Undercooked fi sh or shellfi sh containing larvae
(E) Viable cysticerci in pork or pork products
C___34. A businessman who recently returned from a trip to
Scandinavia goes to the clinic because of intestinal distress.
Based on positive stools, a diagnosis of diphyllobothriasis is
made. Which of the following diagnostic stages would
support this conclusion?
(A) Armed scolex and segments
(B) Elongated eggs with a thin shell
(C) Operculated eggs with an anopercular knob
(D) Rhabditiform juveniles
(E) Thick, corrugated oval eggs
B___35. What is the most likely vehicle for infection in the
above case?
(A) Drinking water (D) Salad greens
(B) Raw fish (E) Soil or sewage
(C) Raw hamburger
E___36. A 3-month-old child presents to the ER in March with
low-grade fever, tachypnea, dyspnea, wheezing, and
cyanosis. A chest xray reveals hyperinflation. What is the
most likely microbial cause of this child’s symptoms?
(A) Adenovirus
(B) Chlamydophila pneumoniae
(C) Infl uenza virus
(D) Mycoplasma pneumoniae
(E) Respiratory syncytial virus
B___37. A 27yo female is diagnosed with acute retroviral
syndrome and is placed under the management of infectious
disease specialists. Which of the following, if it occurred in
this patient, would indicate that she has progressed from HIV
infection to AIDS?
(A) CD4 cell count 50% of normal
(B) Invasive cervical carcinoma
(C) Shingles
(D) Thrush
(E) Viral load >100,000/cmm
A___38. A 33yo pregnant woman in her 34th week of
gestation presents with a mucopurulent vaginal discharge.
No growth from the discharge is obtained on Thayer-Martin
agar. A direct immunofluorescent stain of the discharge
reveals elementary bodies. With which organism is she
infected?
(A) Chlamydia trachomatis
(B) Herpes simplex virus (A) IL-2 (D) IL-5
(C) Neisseria gonorrhoeae (B) IL-3 (E) IL-6
(D) Treponema pallidum (C) IL-4
(E) Trichomonas vaginalis
B___46. T cells stimulated by peptide–MHC complexes,
D___39. What is the preferred method of diagnosis of this displayed on antigen presenting cells, in the absence of
infection? costimulation undergo which one of the following processes?
(A) Antigen detection from cervical swabs (A) Activation (D) Differentiation
(B) Cell culture (B) Anergy (E) Proliferation
(C) Cytology (Pap smear) (C) Apoptosis
(D) Nucleic acid amplifi cation
(E) Serology D___47. Antigens from which one of the following microbes
would be presented on MHC class I molecules by
D___40. An 8-month-old child presents with fever of 37.8 °C, macrophages?
cough, and runny nose of 2 days duration. Her tympanic (A) Ascaris lumbricoides (D) Influenza virus
membranes are reddened and slightly bulging. Which is the (B) Candida albicans (E) Streptococcus pneumoniae
most likely etiologic diagnosis and recommended treatment (C) Haemophilus infl uenzae
option?
(A) Moraxella catarrhalis—amoxicillin–clavulanate A___48. If a person had a genetic defect affecting perforin
(B) Nontypeable Haemophilus production, which cells and immune function would be
infl uenzae—ampicillin–sulbactam affected?
(C) Respiratory syncytial virus—ribavirin (A) Cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells/cell killing
(D) Rhinovirus—symptomatic treatment (B) Dendritic cells/antigen presentation
(E) Streptococcus pneumoniae—amoxicillin (C) Eosinophils and basophils/granule production
(D) Macrophages and neutrophils/phagocytosis
A___41. A 45yo neutropenic cancer patient presents with (E) Mast cells/fusion of granules to cell membrane
fever, dyspnea, and hemoptysis. Imaging studies reveal
cavitary lung lesions and are strongly suggestive of E___49. Which immune system cell is primarily responsible
angioinvasive disease. Elevated galactomannan levels are for the formation of granuloma in the lungs of tuberculosis
found in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. What patients?
is the etiology of this man’s disease? (A) Cytotoxic T cells (D) Natural killer cells
(A) Aspergillus fumigatus (D) M. tuberculosis (B) Dendritic cells (E) Th1 cells
(B) Candida glabrata (E) Nocardia asteroides (C) Eosinophils
(C) Klebsiella pneumoniae
A___50. Which one of the following cytokines plays the most
E___42. Which of the following antimicrobial agent is most important role in protection against intracellular
appropriate in the above case? growth (reactivation) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis?
(A) Azithromycin (D) Pentamidine (A) Interferon-γ (D) Interleukin-10
(B) Isoniazid (E) Voriconazole (B) Interleukin-2 (E) Tumor necrosis factor
(C) Penicillin G (C) Interleukin-5

C___43. Which of the following cytokines supports

proliferation and differentiation of developing lymphocytes in
the primary lymphoid tissue?
(A) Interleukin-1 (D) Interleukin-12
(B) Interleukin-4 (E) Interleukin-18
(C) Interleukin-7

E___44. A workup on an ill child revealed low levels of

complement C3 in her blood. Which one of the following
presentations did this child most likely manifest?
(A) Chronic eczema
(B) Immune hemolytic anemia
(C) Incomplete recovery from viral infections
(D) Poor response to vaccination
(E) Recurrent infections with extracellular bacteria

A___45. Which cytokine is essential for T-cell proliferation

and is also necessary for the production of CD25-positive
regulatory T cells?