MODULE 3 HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT (Study Questions and Key Terms)

Chapter 4 Infectious Disease

1. List the 5 most common worldwide causes of death resulting from infectious
diseases
a. Ischemic heart disease
b. Cerebrovascular disease
c. Pneumonia
d. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
e. Diarrheal disease

2. Describe the invasion and spread of infectious agents in the body

Infectious agents are essentially parasites—organisms that live off of the
host, the infected living thing.

3. Describe three pathologic mechanisms that infectious agents use to cause cell
damage
 Direct cell contact or invasion
 Release toxins (circulate to cause cell death/damage) or release of
enzymes that cause local damage
 Provocation of an immune response - directed at pathogen, causes
additional tissue damage

4. Describe the type of cellular response to host injury by each of the following
bacteria, viruses, and parasites
Bacteria
 usually incite suppurative (purulent) inflammation
 neutrophil infiltration
 edema
 liquefactive necrosis (staphylococcus, streptococcus, E. coli ,
H.influenza)

Viruses
 may kill the cell directly Incite an immune reaction that kills the cell
5. Define each of these clinical phases of infection that may occur after an
organism invades the body
a. Incubation period – the time between invasion and appearance of
signs or symptoms
b. Prodromal period – patient suffers mild, nonspecific symptoms after
incubation period
c. Acute phase – following the prodromal phase; time of maximum acute,
typical clinical signs and symptoms
d. Septicemia – causes shock, intravascular coagulation, and other
calamities
6. Discuss the signs and symptoms of the following virus infections:
a. Rhinovirus
i. Symptoms – sore throat, rhinorrhea, nasal congestion,
sneezing, and cough
ii. Cause ½ of all cases of common colds
b. RSV
i. Symptoms – mild respiratory
ii. Common cause of bronchitis and pneumonia in children
c. Influenza
i. Symptoms – fever, chills, nasal congestion, cough, headache,
myalgia, and malaise
d. Rota virus
i. Symptoms – vomiting, followed by four to eight days of watery
diarrhea, accompanied by a low-grade fever
ii. Cause of severe diarrhea in infants and young children
e. Varicella-zoster virus
i. Symptoms – begins with mild constitutional symptoms
followed by clusters of weeping, crusted small skin blisters,
lesions may appear in the mouth, eyes, and upper respiratory
f. Human papillomavirus
i. Most infections are asymptomatic and of no lasting
consequence. Some types, however, cause skin warts, others
anogenital warts, and others dysplasia and cancer of the cervix

7. Describe the pathophysiology of one latent virus infection and one

transformative virus infection
Transformative: Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) – produce chronic infection that
has been linked to the development of some non-Hodgkin lymphomas and
nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a tumor rare in the West

Latent: Herpes Simplex Virus - virus invades the tips of sensory axons and
travels up the axon to become latent in neuron nuclei in the spinal cord or
brain. The virus has mechanisms to avoid immune recognition and can
reactivate spontaneously, multiplying and traveling back out the axon to
reinfect skin or mucosa again.
8. Categorize the following bacteria according to shape, oxygen requirements,
and Gram stain

Staphylococcus Shape: cocci

Oxygen Requirement: aerobic
Gram Stain: positive
Streptococcus Shape: cocci
Oxygen Requirement: facultative
anaerobe
Gram Stain: positive
 Clostridium Shape: rod
Oxygen Requirement: obligate
anaerobe
Gram Stain: positive
Neisseria Shape: cocci
Oxygen Requirement: aerobic
Gram Stain: negative
Borrelia burgdorferi Shape: rod
Oxygen Requirement: aerobic
Gram Stain:
Mycobacteria Shape: rod
Oxygen Requirement: aerobic
Gram Stain: positive

9. Compare and contrast primary tuberculosis and secondary tuberculosis

Primary tuberculosis
 Initial infection
 Arrested in lungs
 Dormant with no symptoms
Secondary tuberculosis
 Arises from primary
 Arises from patient that has developed chronic, debilitating diseases
such as diabetes, chronic lung disease, or malignancy

10. Discuss the usual presenting signs and symptoms of the following fungal
infections:
a. Candidiasis – Skin infections tend to occur in skin folds and are red,
weepy, and itchy
b. Deep mycoses – Immunosuppressed patients and patients with
leukemia are most at risk. Diagnosis relies on chest X-ray suspicion,
culture of sputum or other fluid, or direct detection by lab techniques.
11. Discuss the signs and symptoms of the following protozoan infections:
a. Malaria – Malaria parasites invade RBCs and destroy them in
hemolytic cycles as immature new organisms burst from infected red
cells, causing episodes of hemolysis, fever, and jaundice every 48 to 72
hours as new generations of parasite reproduce
b. Amebiasis – Most cases (90%) are asymptomatic but symptomatic
infection can be fatal. Invasion of bowel mucosa produces abdominal
pain and diarrhea. Invasion into the portal blood often produces
amebic liver abscesses, but brain, lung, and other organs may be
involved.
c. Giardiasis – Most infections are asymptomatic, but some cause acute
or chronic diarrhea.
12. Discuss the signs and symptoms of the following helminth infections:
 a. Ascariasis – Most infections are asymptomatic but can be suspected
by blood eosinophilia. Severe infections may cause intestinal bleeding,
anemia, or intestinal obstruction.
b. Pinworms – usually cause no symptoms; however, in some patients
the worms crawl onto perianal skin and cause intense itching
c. Trichinosis – causes muscle pain, fever, and periorbital edema
13. STIs stand apart from many other infections. Give 3 examples.
a. Infection is often asymptomatic, especially in women, which increases
the likelihood of transmission, including maternal-fetal transmission.
b. No cure is available for viral STIs such as HPV, genital herpes, or
HIV/AIDS.
c. Immunity against reinfection is often not achieved, making reinfection
possible.
14. Discuss the signs and symptoms of the following STIs:
a. Gonorrhea – Infection in men usually causes acute urethritis, but the
prostate and epididymis can also be involved. Urethral strictures may
develop. Infection in women is less symptomatic but may have
consequences that are far more serious. Acute infection may involve
the vagina, cervix, or fallopian tubes and when symptomatic is
characterized by vaginal discharge (leukorrhea), lower pelvic pain,
and dysuria.
b. Trichomoniasis – New infections in either sex are often asymptomatic.
Women are most often symptomatic and have a mild vaginitis
featuring leukorrhea and burning that is often precipitated by a
change in the vaginal environment that causes the organism to
flourish
c. Chlamydia – many patients, men and women, are asymptomatic
carriers
d. HPV – Some types of HPV cause common skin warts, especially in
children, and are passed by casual skin-to-skin contact. Other types
are passed mainly by sexual contact and cause both benign and
malignant genital neoplasms.
e. Syphilis – hallmark lesion of primary syphilis is the chancre, a hard,
moist, painless ulcer
15. When a physician’s order is written for C&S explain the importance of the
culture. Explain the importance of the sensitivity testing.
Diagnosis is by culture and Gram stain. A sensitivity test is important for
determining the effectiveness of antibiotics on certain bacteria.
16. Explain the molecular medicine principle behind a PCR
Some organisms cannot be cultured so scientists use PCR to detect the
presence of organisms. A specimen is mixed with an enzyme, polymerase,
which detects exceedingly small amounts of DNA or RNA and synthesizes a
very large amount of identical DNA or RNA, enough to study and identify by
other laboratory techniques.