The National Academies
What You Need To Know About Infectious Disease
What do you know about infectious disease?
Each year, how many Americans become infected by what they eat?
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Each year about 76 million Americans—or one in four—become infected by what they eat. Approximately 325,000 are hospitalized. More than 5,000 (14 a day) die.
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Each year about 76 million Americans—or one in four—become infected by what they eat. Approximately 325,000 are hospitalized. More than 5,000 (14 a day) die.
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Correct!
Each year about 76 million Americans—or one in four—become infected by what they eat. Approximately 325,000 are hospitalized. More than 5,000 (14 a day) die.
Roughly how many microbes live in the human gastrointestinal tract?
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
About ten trillion microbes live in the human gastrointestinal tract. They are essential for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients.
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
About ten trillion microbes live in the human gastrointestinal tract. They are essential for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients.
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
About ten trillion microbes live in the human gastrointestinal tract. They are essential for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients.
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Correct!
About ten trillion microbes live in the human gastrointestinal tract. They are essential for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients.
True or False: Most infectious diseases are not impacted by changes in the environment.
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Most infectious diseases are impacted by changes in the environment. Malaria, dengue, and viral encephalitis infections, for example, are highly sensitive to environmental changes.
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Correct!
Most infectious diseases are impacted by changes in the environment. Malaria, dengue, and viral encephalitis infections, for example, are highly sensitive to environmental changes.
Which of the following is needed to help improve the public health situation in developing countries?
- More safe water supplies
- Better sewage treatment and disposal
- Improved food safety and vaccination programs
- All of the above
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
True or False: Washing your hands with soaps that have residue-producing antibacterial products, such as those containing the chemical triclosan, have been proven to confer health benefits.
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Washing with regular soap is considered the most important way to prevent disease transmission. Routine consumer use of residue-producing antibacterial products has no added benefit and may actually contribute to antibiotic resistance.
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Correct!
Washing with regular soap is considered the most important way to prevent disease transmission. Routine consumer use of residue-producing antibacterial products has no added benefit and may actually contribute to antibiotic resistance.
Which of the following diseases is NOT caused by a virus?
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterial infection. Chicken pox, the common cold, and influenza are all caused by viral infections.
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterial infection. Chicken pox, the common cold, and influenza are all caused by viral infections.
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterial infection. Chicken pox, the common cold, and influenza are all caused by viral infections.
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Correct!
Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterial infection. Chicken pox, the common cold, and influenza are all caused by viral infections.
How many people in the world do not have access to an adequate water supply?
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Worldwide, 884 million people do not have access to an adequate water supply, and about three times that number lack basic sanitation services. An estimated 2 million deaths a year can be attributed to unsafe water supplies.
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Worldwide, 884 million people do not have access to an adequate water supply, and about three times that number lack basic sanitation services. An estimated 2 million deaths a year can be attributed to unsafe water supplies.
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Correct!
Worldwide, 884 million people do not have access to an adequate water supply, and about three times that number lack basic sanitation services. An estimated 2 million deaths a year can be attributed to unsafe water supplies.
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?
- Level of school and work absenteeism
- Sales of over-the-counter medication
- Number of illness-related 911 calls
- All of the above
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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