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 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 1918 influenza pandemic (the so-called “Spanish” flu) is estimated to have killed how many people worldwide?

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    The 1918 influenza pandemic is estimated to have killed between 50 million and 100 million people worldwide. Many of those deaths were due to the effects of pneumococcal pneumonia, a secondary complication of flu for which no antibiotics existed in 1918.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    The 1918 influenza pandemic is estimated to have killed between 50 million and 100 million people worldwide. Many of those deaths were due to the effects of pneumococcal pneumonia, a secondary complication of flu for which no antibiotics existed in 1918.

  • Correct!

    The 1918 influenza pandemic is estimated to have killed between 50 million and 100 million people worldwide. Many of those deaths were due to the effects of pneumococcal pneumonia, a secondary complication of flu for which no antibiotics existed in 1918.

Which of the following diseases kills more children worldwide than any other infectious disease?

  • Correct!

    Lower respiratory tract infections (including pneumonia) kill more children worldwide than any other infectious disease. Together these diseases are the five leading causes of infectious disease worldwide, accounting for nearly one-fifth of all deaths.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Lower respiratory tract infections (including pneumonia) kill more children worldwide than any other infectious disease. Together these diseases are the five leading causes of infectious disease worldwide, accounting for nearly one-fifth of all deaths.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Lower respiratory tract infections (including pneumonia) kill more children worldwide than any other infectious disease. Together these diseases are the five leading causes of infectious disease worldwide, accounting for nearly one-fifth of all deaths.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Lower respiratory tract infections (including pneumonia) kill more children worldwide than any other infectious disease. Together these diseases are the five leading causes of infectious disease worldwide, accounting for nearly one-fifth of all deaths.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Lower respiratory tract infections (including pneumonia) kill more children worldwide than any other infectious disease. Together these diseases are the five leading causes of infectious disease worldwide, accounting for nearly one-fifth of all deaths.

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.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the number of people in the world has: 

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Since the beginning of the 20th century the number of people in the world has more than quadrupled—from 1.6 billion to nearly 7 billion—and world population is expected to rise to well over 9 billion by 2050.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Since the beginning of the 20th century the number of people in the world has more than quadrupled—from 1.6 billion to nearly 7 billion—and world population is expected to rise to well over 9 billion by 2050.

  • Correct!

    Since the beginning of the 20th century the number of people in the world has more than quadrupled—from 1.6 billion to nearly 7 billion—and world population is expected to rise to well over 9 billion by 2050.

Due in large measure to the toll of infectious diseases, the gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest countries now exceeds how many years?

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    The gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest countries now exceeds 40 years.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    The gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest countries now exceeds 40 years.

  • Correct!

    The gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest countries now exceeds 40 years.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    The gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest countries now exceeds 40 years.

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.

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.

True or False: Infection with a pathogen (a disease-causing microbe) does not necessarily lead to disease.

  • Correct!

    Infection occurs when viruses, bacteria, or other microbes enter your body and begin to multiply. Disease follows when the cells in your body are damaged as a result of infection, and signs and symptoms of an illness appear.

  • Sorry, that’s incorrect.

    Infection occurs when viruses, bacteria, or other microbes enter your body and begin to multiply. Disease follows when the cells in your body are damaged as a result of infection, and signs and symptoms of an illness appear.

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Infectious Disease Defined

Cytokine

A type of protein secreted by cells in the immune system that carries signals  that facilitate cell-to-cell communication  and help regulate the way the immune system responds to inflammation and infection.

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