Pathology

Question 1

What is a zoonotic disease?

Answer 1

A disease passed from a vertebrate animal to humans.

Question 2

True or False: There is an effective treatment for rabies.

Answer 2

False. There is still no reliable treatment for rabies, a bullet shaped virus which can be transmitted among vertebrate species. It is almost always fatal once the infection is established and any symtoms occur. Immediate vaccination after exposure to prevent the virus from taking hold is imperative.

Question 3

How do we test for rabies?

Answer 3

FAT (fluorescent antibody test) performed on touch preps of brain tissue or a dRIT (direct rapid immuno histochemistry test). Before these methods, histochemical staining was done on FFPE tissue. Viral inclusions called negri bodies are eosinophilic and found in the cytoplasm of nerve cells. Methylene blue is often used as a counterstain for this method.

Question 4

Name a retrovirus.

Answer 4

HIV, HTLV-1, HTLV-2

Question 5

What is Cat Scratch Fever?

Answer 5

A bacterial infection transmitted to humans from a cat bite or scratch.

Question 6

True or False: Pet reptiles and amphibians can transmit salmonella to humans.

Answer 6

True. Also baby chicks and ducks given as Easter presents.

Question 7

What animals might be asymptomatic carriers of hantavirus?

Answer 7

Deer mice and other wild rodents.

Question 8

What is a common bacterial disease istransmitted by eating wild rabbit meat?

Answer 8

Tularemia. It can cause fatal pneumonia.

Question 9

What do CJD and CWD have in common?

Answer 9

Chronic Wasting Disease in cervids (deer, elk moose, etc.) and Jacob Cruetzfeld Disease are both caused by prions. So far CWD has not been shown to be transmitted to humans, but CJD (mad cow disease) definitely can be.

Question 10

Lone Star, Western Black Legged, Rocky Mountain Wood, Brown Dog, Black Legged Deer and American Dog. What do these names have in common?

Answer 10

They are all ticks that can cause diseases in humans.

Question 11

True or False: The tickborne diseases Erlichia and Anaplasma are viruses.

Answer 11

False. They are neither viral nor bacterial, although they invade cells and take over some functions as viruses do. They are intracellular organisms carried in leukocytes. Specifically, Erlichia lives in macrophages and Anaplasma in neutrophils.

Question 12

True or False: Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by a spirochete.

Answer 12

True. It is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi and is carried by the Black Legged Deer Tick. It is the most common tickborne disease in the U.S.

Question 13

True or False: The American Dog Tick, the Brown Dog Tick, and the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick are all vectors for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

Answer 13

True. This is a fatal tickborne disease.

Question 14

What is the most common GI infection in the US?

Answer 14

Norovirus.

Question 15

What is rotovirus?

Answer 15

The most common cause of diarrheal disease in children.

Question 16

What is giardia lablia?

Answer 16

A parasite. AKA giardia duodenalis and giardia intetinalis, it is the most common gut parasite in the US. The excreted cyst forms are resistant to chlorination, so suspect water must be boiled and/or filtered before ingestion.

Question 17

Is iodine effective for giardiasis?

Answer 17

No. Nor is it effective for cryptosporidium.

Question 18

What are the 4 most common bacteria causing inflamatory diarrhea?

Answer 18

Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, and E. coli O157:H7 cause inflammatory diarrhea (blood or mucus in the stool, fever, and abdominal pain indicating invasion of the intestinal wall). As opposed to secretory diarrhea, which is decreased absorption of electrolytes.

Question 19

What is Tourista?

Answer 19

Traveller’s diarrhea.

Question 20

True or False: C. diff is a bacterium.

Answer 20

True. Clostridium difficile is a bacteria that causes colitis. The fastest and most effective treatment for sever C. diff is fecal microbiota transplant.

Question 21

What is a fecal microbiota transplant?

Answer 21

A procedure that delivers healthy stool via colonoscopy, enema, nasogastric tube or poop pills to a patient suffering from severe GI infections.

Question 22

What is bacteremia?

Answer 22

Blood poisoning or bacteria in the blood.

Question 23

What is it called when the immune system’s reponse to an infection is so extreme it causes organ failure?

Answer 23

Sepsis. The infection that causes it is usually bacterial, but it could be viral or fungal.

Question 24

What causes TSS?

Answer 24

Toxic Shock Syndrome happens when bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pyogenes) produce toxins that cause bloodstream infections rather than the bacteria itself. It progresses to sepsis.

Question 25

What is the common term for necrotizing fasciitis?

Answer 25

Flesh eating bacteria.

Question 26

True or False: HIV patients test positive with a GMS stain.

Answer 26

True. Patients with advanced HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) can get opportunistic concomitant infections like pneumocystic pneumonia (PCP) or cryptococcal fungal meningitis. Both can be detected with a GMS stain.

Question 27

What is the skin cancer that is common with advanced HIV patients?

Answer 27

Kaposi’s Sarcoma.

Question 28

True or False: Antiretroviral therapy can help prevent the spread of HIV.

Answer 28

True.