The National Academies

The National Academies: What You Need To Know About Infectious Disease

What You Need To Know About Infectious Disease

What do you know about infectious disease?

How many people in the United States die from flu-related complications each year?

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    About 36,000 people die from flu-related complications each year in the United States. More than 200,000 are hospitalized.

  • Correct!

    About 36,000 people die from flu-related complications each year in the United States. More than 200,000 are hospitalized.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    About 36,000 people die from flu-related complications each year in the United States. More than 200,000 are hospitalized.

Which of the following is NOT a vector-borne disease?

  • Correct!

    Influenza is not a vector-borne disease, meaning it is not transmitted to humans indirectly via an insect, an arthropod, or another animal. Malaria and yellow fever are transmitted by mosquitoes. Lyme disease is transmitted by deer ticks.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Influenza is not a vector-borne disease, meaning it is not transmitted to humans indirectly via an insect, an arthropod, or another animal. Malaria and yellow fever are transmitted by mosquitoes. Lyme disease is transmitted by deer ticks.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Influenza is not a vector-borne disease, meaning it is not transmitted to humans indirectly via an insect, an arthropod, or another animal. Malaria and yellow fever are transmitted by mosquitoes. Lyme disease is transmitted by deer ticks.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Influenza is not a vector-borne disease, meaning it is not transmitted to humans indirectly via an insect, an arthropod, or another animal. Malaria and yellow fever are transmitted by mosquitoes. Lyme disease is transmitted by deer ticks.

Which of the following diseases is NOT caused by a virus?

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterial infection. Chicken pox, the common cold, and influenza are all caused by viral infections.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterial infection. Chicken pox, the common cold, and influenza are all caused by viral infections.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterial infection. Chicken pox, the common cold, and influenza are all caused by viral infections.

  • Correct!

    Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterial infection. Chicken pox, the common cold, and influenza are all caused by viral infections.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) causes about what percentage of cervical cancer cases?

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    The human papillomavirus (HPV) causes more than 90% of cervical cancer cases.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    The human papillomavirus (HPV) causes more than 90% of cervical cancer cases.

  • Correct!

    The human papillomavirus (HPV) causes more than 90% of cervical cancer cases.

Which of these viral diseases has the most antiviral drugs available to treat it?

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Today there are more antiviral drugs available for HIV than for any other viral disease, transforming an infection that was once considered a death sentence into a manageable chronic condition.

  • Correct!

    Today there are more antiviral drugs available for HIV than for any other viral disease, transforming an infection that was once considered a death sentence into a manageable chronic condition.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Today there are more antiviral drugs available for HIV than for any other viral disease, transforming an infection that was once considered a death sentence into a manageable chronic condition.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Today there are more antiviral drugs available for HIV than for any other viral disease, transforming an infection that was once considered a death sentence into a manageable chronic condition.

Which of the following is not a viral disease:

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Trichinosis is not a viral disease. It is caused by a helminth (parasitic worm) found in undercooked meat, not by a virus. 

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Trichinosis is not a viral disease. It is caused by a helminth (parasitic worm) found in undercooked meat, not by a virus.   

  • Correct!

    Trichinosis is not a viral disease. It is caused by a helminth (parasitic worm) found in undercooked meat, not by a virus.  

Which of the following is an effective way to protect yourself against infectious disease?

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    All of the above can help prevent infectious disease. Other behaviors, such as exercising caution around wild and unfamiliar domestic animals, avoiding insect bites, practicing safe sex, and being vigilant about disease threats while traveling abroad, can also reduce the risk of infection.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    All of the above can help prevent infectious disease. Other behaviors, such as exercising caution around wild and unfamiliar domestic animals, avoiding insect bites, practicing safe sex, and being vigilant about disease threats while traveling abroad, can also reduce the risk of infection.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    All of the above can help prevent infectious disease. Other behaviors, such as exercising caution around wild and unfamiliar domestic animals, avoiding insect bites, practicing safe sex, and being vigilant about disease threats while traveling abroad, can also reduce the risk of infection.

  • Correct!

    All of the above can help prevent infectious disease. Other behaviors, such as exercising caution around wild and unfamiliar domestic animals, avoiding insect bites, practicing safe sex, and being vigilant about disease threats while traveling abroad, can also reduce the risk of infection.

For each child who dies from pneumonia in an industrialized country, about how many children die from the infection in developing countries?

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Life-saving vaccines and medications aren’t distributed equitably around the world; for each child who dies from pneumonia in an industrialized country, more than 2,000 children die from the infection in developing countries.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Life-saving vaccines and medications aren’t distributed equitably around the world; for each child who dies from pneumonia in an industrialized country, more than 2,000 children die from the infection in developing countries.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Life-saving vaccines and medications aren’t distributed equitably around the world; for each child who dies from pneumonia in an industrialized country, more than 2,000 children die from the infection in developing countries.

  • Correct!

    Life-saving vaccines and medications aren’t distributed equitably around the world; for each child who dies from pneumonia in an industrialized country, more than 2,000 children die from the infection in developing countries.

About how many airline passengers cross international borders daily?

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    An estimated 1.8 million airline passengers cross international borders daily, creating routes by which human infections can radiate around the world within hours.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    An estimated 1.8 million airline passengers cross international borders daily, creating routes by which human infections can radiate around the world within hours.

  • Correct!

    An estimated 1.8 million airline passengers cross international borders daily, creating routes by which human infections can radiate around the world within hours.

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Disease Watchlist

Infectious Disease Defined

Trachea

The main trunk of the network of tubes that carries air to and from the lungs, sometimes referred to as the “windpipe.”

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