CHAPTER 5 – QUESTIONS
All of the multiple choice questions comprise five options, one of which is the correct
answer.
Most of the questions require the reader to identify the correct statement from among
a list of options. Some of these options are totally fictitious.
1. Which of the following parasites is normally transmitted by faecal-oral
contamination?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Giardia duodenalis.
Trypanosoma cruzi.
Gasterophilus duodenalis.
Wuchereria bancrofti.
Babesia bigemina.
2. Which of the following is the best definition of a geohelminth infection?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
A parasite with a world-wide distribution.
A helminth whose epidemiology can be monitored using GIS technology.
A helminth whose infective stages are found in soil.
A fossil parasite.
A parasitic infection that induces geophagy.
3. Which of the following statements correctly explains the relationship between
Dictyocaulus viviparus and Pilobolus spp.?
a) The nematode exploits Pilobolus as a paratenic host.
b) Infection of cattle with the nematode makes them more susceptible to
Pilobolus spp.
c) Pilobolus spp. can be used as a biological control agent of the nematode.
d) The larvae of the nematode utilise the sporangiophores of Pilobolus as a
means of escaping from dung pats.
e) The larvae of the nematode feed on Pilobolus spp.
4. Which of the following parasites is NOT a sexually transmitted infection?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Trichomonas foetus.
Pediculus humanus capitatis.
Trichuris trichiura.
Entamoeba histolytica.
Phthirus pubis.
Parasitology: An Integrated Approach, First Edition. Alan Gunn and Sarah J. Pitt.
© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
5. Which of the following situations is most likely to result in human congenital
toxoplasmosis?
a) When the mother becomes infected with the parasite for the first time during
her pregnancy.
b) When a sero-positive mother becomes pregnant for the first time.
c) When a woman becomes infected for the second time during her pregnancy.
d) If a woman eats meat during the second trimester of her pregnancy.
e) When an infected mother becomes pregnant for the second time.
6. How is the protozoan parasite Histomonas meleagradis normally transmitted?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Within the semen of male birds.
Within the eggs of the nematode Heterakis gallinae.
Within the oocysts of Eimeria tenella.
As oocysts attached to the legs of a mechanical vector, such as Musca
domestica.
e) Within the eggs laid by an infected female bird.
7. Which of the following is the best definition of autoinfection?
a) When the infective stages colonise the same species as their parents.
b) When a parasite is transmitted along major transport routes.
c) When a mammalian parasite crosses the placenta and infects the young
before birth.
d) If the infective stages of a parasite colonise the same individual as their
parents.
e) Infections acquired through prolonged contact in a confined space such as a
car, railway carriage, or aeroplane.
8. Which of the following is an example of nosocomial transmission?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
An infection acquired at work.
An infection acquired at a social event.
An infection acquired through sexual intercourse.
An infection transmitted across the placenta.
An infection transmitted during a blood transfusion.
9. Which of the following parasites exhibits active invasion of the definitive host?
a) Onchocerca volvulus.
b) Necator americanus.
c) Ascaris lumbricoides.
Parasitology: An Integrated Approach, First Edition. Alan Gunn and Sarah J. Pitt.
© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
d) Plasmodium falciparum.
e) Trichinella spiralis.
10. Which of the following species of insect is most likely to act as a mechanical
vector of Entamoeba histolytica?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Calliphora vicina.
Chrysomya bezziana.
Triatoma infestans.
Pulex irritans.
Pediculus humanus capitatis.
11. Which of the following is the best definition of concomitant infection?
a) Where an animal is infected with two different species of pathogen at the
same time.
b) When an animal is infected with two or more parasites.
c) A type of chronic infection that is impossible to resolve.
d) When the host is infected with a parasite and a virus.
e) An infection that periodically ‘flares up’ when the immune system is
compromised.
12. Which of the following viruses was accidentally spread by intravenous drug
treatment of schistosomiasis in Egypt during the 1950s?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
HCV.
HIV.
PCV-2.
HSV-1.
CDV.
13. Which of the following statements about Burkitt’s Lymphoma is correct?
a) It results from an interaction between Epstein-Barr virus and Neospora
caninum.
b) It is a consequence of Epstein-Barr virus infection lowering the CD4+ count
and making the patient more susceptible to oncogenic viral infections.
c) The incidence of the condition increases where malaria control has been
successful.
d) Children who carry the sickle cell trait are less likely to suffer from Burkitt’s
Lymphoma.
e) The tumour cells in Burkitt’s Lymphoma are macrophages carrying the CD4+
marker.
Parasitology: An Integrated Approach, First Edition. Alan Gunn and Sarah J. Pitt.
© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
14. Which of the following changes in behaviour has been described in rats
suffering from Toxoplasma gondii infection and is thought to enhance the
chances of the parasite being transmitted to the definitive host?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
They are less aggressive.
They are attracted to cat urine.
They are attracted to dog faeces.
They are attracted to owl pellets.
They become neophobic.
15. Which of the following has been linked to human infections with Toxoplasma
gondii?
a) Infected men have lower testosterone levels than uninfected men.
b) People infected with the parasite are less likely to be involved in serious traffic
accidents.
c) Women infected with Toxoplasma gondii tend to be more trusting than those
who are uninfected.
d) Men infected with the parasite tend to score lower than uninfected men for
jealousy in personality tests.
e) Men infected with Toxoplasma gondii are less likely to develop schizophrenia
than uninfected men.
Parasitology: An Integrated Approach, First Edition. Alan Gunn and Sarah J. Pitt.
© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.