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?

Which reproduce the fastest:

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Viruses reproduce the fastest. Humans produce a new generation every 20 years or so; bacteria do it every 20 to 30 minutes, and viruses even faster.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Viruses reproduce the fastest. Humans produce a new generation every 20 years or so; bacteria do it every 20 to 30 minutes, and viruses even faster.

  • Correct!

    Viruses reproduce the fastest. Humans produce a new generation every 20 years or so; bacteria do it every 20 to 30 minutes, and viruses even faster.

Which deadly pathogen cannot be found naturally in the wild:

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Smallpox cannot be found naturally in the wild. Smallpox was officially declared eradicated from the globe in 1980, after an 11-year WHO vaccination campaign—the first human disease to be eliminated as a naturally spread contagion. Today, the virus remains only in laboratory stockpiles.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Smallpox cannot be found naturally in the wild. Smallpox was officially declared eradicated from the globe in 1980, after an 11-year WHO vaccination campaign—the first human disease to be eliminated as a naturally spread contagion. Today, the virus remains only in laboratory stockpiles.

  • Correct!

    Smallpox cannot be found naturally in the wild. Smallpox was officially declared eradicated from the globe in 1980, after an 11-year WHO vaccination campaign—the first human disease to be eliminated as a naturally spread contagion. Today, the virus remains only in laboratory stockpiles.

About what percentage of the antibiotics produced in the United States is added to animal feeds to promote growth?

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Almost 70% of all the antibiotics produced in the United States is added to animal feeds—not to fend off disease but to boost growth. These non-therapeutic uses of antibiotics are a perfect way to cultivate microbes that are resistant to antibiotics.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Almost 70% of all the antibiotics produced in the United States is added to animal feeds—not to fend off disease but to boost growth. These non-therapeutic uses of antibiotics are a perfect way to cultivate microbes that are resistant to antibiotics.

  • Correct!

    Almost 70% of all the antibiotics produced in the United States is added to animal feeds—not to fend off disease but to boost growth. These non-therapeutic uses of antibiotics are a perfect way to cultivate microbes that are resistant to antibiotics.

Which of the following is needed to help improve the public health situation in developing countries?

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    All of the above are urgently needed in developing nations. A major barrier to achieving these improvements is the underlying weakness of health systems in resource-poor countries, including a shortage of health workers and a lack of disease surveillance programs.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    All of the above are urgently needed in developing nations. A major barrier to achieving these improvements is the underlying weakness of health systems in resource-poor countries, including a shortage of health workers and a lack of disease surveillance programs.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    All of the above are urgently needed in developing nations. A major barrier to achieving these improvements is the underlying weakness of health systems in resource-poor countries, including a shortage of health workers and a lack of disease surveillance programs.

  • Correct!

    All of the above are urgently needed in developing nations. A major barrier to achieving these improvements is the underlying weakness of health systems in resource-poor countries, including a shortage of health workers and a lack of disease surveillance programs.

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.

True or False: Growing evidence suggests that infections are behind many chronic diseases once thought to be caused by genetic, environmental, or lifestyle factors.

  • Correct!
    Growing evidence does suggest that infections are behind many chronic diseases once thought to be caused by genetic, environmental, or lifestyle factors, including peptic ulcers and cervical, liver, and gastric cancers.
  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Growing evidence does suggest that infections are behind many chronic diseases once thought to be caused by genetic, environmental, or lifestyle factors, including peptic ulcers and cervical, liver, and gastric cancers.

True or False: Antibiotics work by introducing an agent that resembles a disease-causing microbe, thus stimulating the body's immune system to recognize it as foreign, destroy it, and "remember" it, so that it can more easily identify and destroy any similar, disease-causing microbes that it later encounters.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    The above describes how vaccines work. Antibiotics work by either killing bacteria or stopping them from reproducing, allowing the body's natural defenses to eliminate the pathogens.

  • Correct!

    The above describes how vaccines work. Antibiotics work by either killing bacteria or stopping them from reproducing, allowing the body's natural defenses to eliminate the pathogens.

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.

Public health officials can identify the outbreak of disease by monitoring certain patterns of behavior through syndromic surveillance. Which of the following is one of the signs used to identify a disease outbreak using this system?

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    In syndromic surveillance, all of the above are used in addition to other patterns that suggest an outbreak. Despite the emergence of this innovative surveillance method, most surveillance still depends on tracking reported infections. 

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    In syndromic surveillance, all of the above are used in addition to other patterns that suggest an outbreak. Despite the emergence of this innovative surveillance method, most surveillance still depends on tracking reported infections. 

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    In syndromic surveillance, all of the above are used in addition to other patterns that suggest an outbreak. Despite the emergence of this innovative surveillance method, most surveillance still depends on tracking reported infections. 

  • Correct!

    In syndromic surveillance, all of the above are used in addition to other patterns that suggest an outbreak. Despite the emergence of this innovative surveillance method, most surveillance still depends on tracking reported infections. 

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Infectious Disease Defined

RNA

Short for ribonucleic acid, RNA is a molecule with long strands of nucleic acids containing a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate. RNA is responsible for controlling a number of chemical activities, including protein synthesis, within cells.

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