1. What disease is usually inconsequential in children but may cause serious effects in adolescent and adult males? (a) mumps; (b) pertussis; (c) typhoid fever; (d) rubella; (e) diphtheria

2. What life-threatening disease has been contracted by people camping in Yosemite National Park?  (a) Lyme disease; (b) leprosy; (c) Dengue fever; (d) hanta virus; (e) bubonic plague

3. Which of those in no. 2 is transmitted by mosquitoes?

4. Which of those in no. 2 is transmitted by fleas which have been infected by biting small rodents (rats, mice, etc…)?

5. Which of those in no. 2 is believed to have decimated the entire population of Constantinople in 532 AD?

6. Twenty percent of the population of what animal species carries the organism causing leprosy? (a) gray squirrels; (b) armadillos, (c) opossums; (d) Norway rats; (e) coyotes

7. Which of the following diseases are believed to have been introduced into the U.S. in recent years by immigrants from tropical countries? (a) drug-resistant tuberculosis; (b) Dengue fever; (c) Chagas’ disease; (d) cholera; (e) all of the above

8. Which of the following is responsible for people requiring liver transplants more than any of the others listed? (a) alcoholism; (b) hepatitis c; (c) cigarette smoking; (d) marijuana smoking; (e) malaria

9. Overall, during the entire adult lives, which of the following has the lowest total health care costs? (a) cigarette smokers; (b) slender, non-smokers; (c) obese, non-smokers; (d) vegetarians; (e) African-Americans

 

10. Which of the following, as children, exhibit the highest rates of allergy to cockroaches?

(a) Northern Europeans; (b) African-Americans; (c) Italians; (d) Puerto Ricans; (e) Armenians

11. Which of the following causes the most fatalities of American women? (a) ovarian cancer;

(b) breast cancer; (c) heart attack; (d) lung cancer; (e) Alzheimer’s

12. Baby Boomers are encouraged to get tested for hepatitis c. How is the disease contracted?

(a) sharing drug needles (b) tattoos; (c) blood transfusions; (d) sexual contact with infected persons; (e) all of the above

13. People who have had chicken pox are susceptible to what painful disease that could appear later in life? (a) melanoma; (b) shingles; (c) rheumatoid arthritis; (d) fibromyalgia; (e) leprosy

14. Persons with which are more likely to suffer from heart disease than others? (a) larger bellies; (b) large buttocks; (c) large breasts; (d) obesity; (e) addition to bicycling

15. Decay and loss of tooth can result from use of (a) marijuana; (b) Ecstasy;

(c) methamphetamine; (d) cocaine; (e) heroine

16. Moderate use of which of those in 13 can result in memory loss?

17. Obese people suffering from type 2 diabetes have lower mortality rates than normal-weight diabetics. (a) true; (b) false

18. Resistance to rabies has been reported in people who have been bitten by rabid (a) cats; (b) opossums; (c) vampire bats; (d) red foxes; (e) coyotes

19. Which of the above is least susceptible to rabies?

20. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is transmitted by (a) cat fleas; (b) ticks; (c) bedbugs; (d) mosquitoes; (e) deer flies

21. A sexually transmitted disease can lead to cervical cancer. It is (a) herpes 2; (b) human papillomavirus; (c) AIDS; (d) herpes simplex; (e) gonorrhea

22. An infection in children sometimes called “the fifth disease,” is more accurately known as

(a) red measles; (b) German measles; (c) chicken pox; (d) human parvovirus; (e) impetigo

Answers:

1-a 2-d 3-c

4-e 5-e 6-b

7-e 8-b 9-a

10-d 11-c     12-e

13-b 14-a     15-c

16-b 17-a     18-c

19-b 20-b     21-b

22-d

Scoring: 18-22 correct, must be an MD-Epidemiologist; 14-17, avg. for PhD’s, 10-13 correct, avg. for golf addicts; 6-9 correct, avg. for football fans; below 6, avg. for NASCAR fans

Bob Mount is a Professor Emeritus with the Dept of Zoology and Entomology, Auburn Univ. He is also chairman of the Opelika Order of Geezers, well-known local think tank and political clearing house. He writes about birds, snakes, turtles, bugs and assorted conservation topics.