Microbiology I and II Multiple Choice Questions

1.

If a human develops cysticercosis, by which means was the infection transmitted?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

2.

Which infection predisposes to bladder cancer?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

3.

Eating beef
Eating pork
Fecal oral from pig feces
Fecal oral from cow feces
Fecal oral from human feces

Schistosoma haematobium
Schistosoma mansoni
Schistosoma japonicum
Clonorchis sinensis

A healthy, non-pregnant, college-aged female complains of dysuria and urinary

frequency. A urine dipstick shows 2+ leukocyte esterase, with a negative nitrite. A urine
sediment shows 50 WBC and few bacteria. How should a urine culture report of rare
(102) Staph. saprophyticus in her urine be interpreted?
(a) There are too few organisms in the urine culture to represent significant bacteruria;
the patient does not have a UTI.
(b) Taking the findings together, there is adequate evidence of a UTI.
(c) The findings are inconclusive. Another urine culture should be sent.
(d) The findings are inconclusive. Another urine dipstick should be sent.

4.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is able to ferment which of the following carbohydrates:

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

5.

Which species of Shigella is most prominent in the US?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

6.

Glucose only
Glucose and maltose
Glucose, maltose, and sucrose
Glucose, maltose, sucrose, and lactose

S. dysenteriae (serogroup A)
S. flexneri (serogroup B)
S. boydii (serogroup C)
S. sonnei (serogroup D)

Which species of Shigella is associated with the hemolytic-uremic syndrome?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

S. dysenteriae (serogroup A)
S. flexneri (serogroup B)
S. boydii (serogroup C)
S. sonnei (serogroup D)

7.

Which is true of E. coli O157:H7?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

8.

RNA testing in HCV infection can be used to:

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

9.

Sheep blood cells produce neither X factor nor V factor

Sheep blood cells produce only X factor
Sheep blood cells produce only V factor
Sheep blood cells produce both X and V factors, but an enzyme present in the blood
hydrolyzes the V factor

A primary gram stain shows filamentous, branching gram positive rods. A modified acid
fast stain from the same specimen reveals that the bacteria are modified acid fast positive.
The organism is most likely to be which of the following:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

12.

Bacitracin susceptibility test

Optochin susceptibility test
Novobiocin susceptibility test
Vancomycin susceptibility test

Why wont H. influenzae grow on sheep blood agar?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

11.

Predict response to therapy

Assess response to therapy
Confirm the presence of HCV infection
All of the above

Which of the following is a test used to differentiate between Streptococcus pneumoniae

and viridans streptococci?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

10.

Ferments sorbitol
Does not ferment sorbitol
Does not ferment glucose
Shows fluorescence when grown on MUG-containing media

Actinomyces
Streptomyces
Nocardia
Mycobacterium tuberculosis

A lung biopsy shows an invasive fungal pneumonia. Morphologically, the organism has
relatively narrow, regularly septated, hyaline hyphae, with acute angle branching.
Although you suspect Aspergillus, which of the following cannot be ruled out?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

Mucor
Coccidioides immitis
Pseudallescheria boydii/Scedosporium apiospermum
Rhizopus

13.

Which of the following dimorphic fungi produces a diffusible red pigment when grown
on standard culture media?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

14.

A 9 year old child visits her primary care physician with signs and symptoms of pertussis
(whooping cough). The patients cough began 20 days prior to this visit. The childs
mother is fairly certain that the patient was properly vaccinated. In order to confirm the
diagnosis, the clinician should:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

15.

Preference for a keratin-rich environment

Cause infection in both healthy and immunocompromised patients
Hyphae are darkly pigmented
Able to grow in the presence of cycloheximide

All of the following are characteristics of rapid growing mycobacteria except:

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
18.

Non-pigmented whether grown in dark or light

Pigmented whether grown in dark or light
Non-pigmented when grown in the dark, but pigmented after exposure to light
Pigmented when grown in the dark, but the pigment disappears after exposure to light

All of the following are characteristics of dermatophytes except:

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
17.

Send a nasopharyngeal aspirate or swab for B. pertussis culture

Send blood for B. pertussis serology
Send for both culture and serology
Do nothingno workup is indicated

When a mycobacterium is described as a scotochromogen, this means that colonies of the

organism on solid media are:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

16.

Histoplasma capsulatum
Penicillium marneffei
Blastomyces dermatitidis
Paracoccidiodes brasiliensis

Positive for arylsulfatase activity in 3 days

Non-pigmented
Cell wall lacks mycolic acids
Growth on MacConkey agar lacking crystal violet

Trichomonas vaginalis is an example of which type of protozoa:

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

Amoeba
Flagellate
Ciliate
Sporozoan

19.

A 20 year old pregnant female is screened for HIV using the ELISA method. The ELISA
is positive, so a Western blot is run for confirmation. The Western blot is negative. The
correct interpretation of these findings is:
(a) The Western blot result is a false negative. The patient is infected with HIV.
(b) The ELISA result is a false positive. The patient is not infected with HIV.
(c) The results are indeterminant. The ELISA should be repeated after a few months.
(d) The results are indeterminant. The Western blot should be repeated after a few months.

20.

An 18 year old male presents to his primary care physician with a sore throat, a fever of
100.5 F, and enlarged submandibular lymph nodes. The clinician realizes that acute EBV
infection is in the differential diagnosis, and orders a heterophile antibody test. The test
is negative. The correct interpretation of these findings is:
(a) The patient does not have acute EBV.
(b) The patient does have acute EBV.
(c) The negative test cannot rule out acute EBV infection. The heterophile antibody test
should be repeated after a few weeks.
(d) The negative test cannot rule out acute EBV infection. There is no point in repeating
the heterophile antibody test, because if it is negative the first time, it will always be
negative.

21.

A 65 year old female is recovering from a lung transplant in the hospital. She has a 2week old central line. She develops a fever, and blood cultures are sent. Three of four
blood culture bottles are positive for Candida glabrata. The intern taking care of her
suggests treating her with fluconazole. The attending physician should:
(a) Agree with the intern and treat with fluconazole. Fluconazole is nearly always active
against Candida glabrata.
(b) Disagree with the intern and treat with another antifungal agent (e.g. Amphotericin
B). A significant proportion of Candida glabrata isolates from blood are fluconazole
resistant.
(c) Disagree with the intern and treat with another antifungal agent (e.g. Amphotericin
B). Candida glabrata is always resistant to fluconazole.
(d) Disagree with the intern. Fluconazole is never used to treat Candidemia.

22.

A 54 year old male has a history of a mitral valve replacement 18 months prior to
admission. He presented to the emergency room with fever and chills, 2 days after he
saw his dentist for a root canal. He says he did not take prophylactic antibiotics prior to
the procedure, but did take them the next day. Blood culture are drawn, and 2/4 bottles
are positive for gram positive cocci in chains. The blood cultures are subcultured to
sheep blood agar with an optochin disk. Growth on the plate shows which alphahemolytic colonies that are resistant to optochin. A catalase test is negative. The bile
esculin test is positive, but the PYR test is negative, and the isolate cannot grow in the
presence of 6.5% NaCl. The correct identification of this organism is:
(a) Streptococcus pyogenes
(b) Streptococcus pneumoniae
(c) Viridans streptococcus
(d) Streptococcus bovis

Answers: for Microbiology I & II John Branda, MD

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E
A
B
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A
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B
D
C
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B
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B
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C
B
D
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B
D