1. Microorganisms are generally……….

than ………
a) Larger, 0.1mm
b) Smaller, 0.1mm.
c) Larger, 0.001mm
d) Smaller, 0.1m

2. Microbes comprise all the following except…………..

a) Viruses.
b) Bacteria.
c) Animalcules.
d) None of the above.

3. The father of biological nomenclature is…………

a) Aristotle.
b) Louis Pasteur.
c) Francesco Redi.
d) Carolus Linnaeus.

4. The conception that living organisms could arise from non-living organisms known
as Spontaneous Generation was supported by all these scientists except…….
a) Aristotle.
b) John Needham.
c) Robert Schwann.
d) None of the above.

5. …………… perceived that simpler invertebrates and vertebrates could arise

spontaneously in support of the theory of spontaneous generation.
 a) Aristotle.
b) John Needham.
c) Lazarro Spallanzani.
d) John Tyndall.

6. ……………… boiled mutton broth, then sealed it and still observed growth after a
period of time in an attempt to prove or disprove spontaneous generation.
a) John Needham.
b) John Tyndall.
c) Robert Schwann.
d) Louis Pasteur.
7. The observational comment that external air may be required for the growth of
organisms already present in a medium was put out by…………..
a) John Needham.
b) John Tyndall.
c) Lazarro Spallanzani.
d) Louis Pasteur.
8. The experiment carried out by Lazarro Spallanzani in his attempts to test out the
theory of spontaneous generation was based on the earlier works of ………..
a) Louis Pasteur.
b) John Needham.
c) John Tyndall.
d) Robert Schwann.
9. The inventor of the first basic microscope was ……………
a) Lazarro Spallanzani.
b) Anton van Leeuwenhoek
c) John Needham.
 d) Francesco Redi
10. The first person to describe microorganisms accurately was …………..
a) Francesco Redi.
b) Lazarro Spallanzani.
c) Anton van Leeuwenhoek
d) Felix Pouchet
11. The experiment that was carried out by allowing air to enter a flask but only after
passing it through a heated tube or sterile wool that eventually led to the flask
remaining sterile was conducted by ………………..
a) John Tyndall.
b) Felix Pouchet
c) Louis Pasteur
d) Robert Schwann.
12. The final historical experiment to disprove spontaneous generation was conducted
by ……………
a) Louis Pasteur.
b) John Needham.
c) Francesco Redi.
d) A and C
13. …………believed that disease was caused by invisible forces known as Miasmas.
a) Robert Schwann.
b) Felix Pouchet
c) Franscesco Stelluti
d) None of the above.
14. The theory of miasmas causing diseases states that any form of imbalances
between the 4 humours lead to illness. These humours include all the following
except…………
 a) Blood.
b) Melancholy.
c) Green bile.
d) Phlegm.
15. The eruption and subsequent support of the germ theory of disease began to
accumulate in the …………….
a) 1900s.
b) 1800s.
c) 2000s.
d) 1700s.
16. During the theoretical period of miasmas as disease causative agents, the Greek
physician who was in full support and acceptance of this conception was ……………
a) Galen.
b) Redi.
c) Lucretius.
d) Poucet.
17. The germ theory of disease is a scientific theory that states that ………….
a) Diseases are caused by interaction between microbes and human actions.
b) The relationship between the environment and germs are major factors for
the occurrence of diseases.
c) Microorganisms invade or infect other organisms to cause diseases.
d) Germs develop into microbes to be able to cause disease.
18. Pathology is defined as …………
a) The study of the links between diseases and basic science
b) The study of the link between diseases and the basic human interactions.
c) The study of the links between diseases and their biology.
d) The study of the link between diseases and the target host.
19. When a disease is diagnosed, treatment is given to …………. complications and to
………… prognosis.
a) Control, Improve.
b) Improve, Ameliorate.
c) Prevent, Ameliorate.
d) Deteriorate, Restore.
20. Immunology can be accurately defined by all these parameters except……….
a) It is the recognition of self from non-self and all of the biological, serological,
and physio-chemical aspects of immune phenomena defense mechanisms
b) The biological and physical mechanisms employed by humans to undergo
successful chemical reactions.
c) It is the branch of biomedical science concerned with the response of
organisms to antigenic action or attack.
d) They include all the physical, chemical and biological properties of the
organism which reduces susceptibility to foreign organisms or material.
21. Outbreaks mostly occur in all the following areas except………
a) Local community.
b) Large town.
c) Community hospital.
d) Country.
22. The factors that determine the occurrence of the incidence of epidemics
include………..
a) Size of region.
b) Number of cases.
c) Level of confinement.
d) All the above.
23. The uprising and potential spread of pandemic diseases is highly dependent upon
……………
a) Ease of global transportation.
b) Level of confinement.
c) Virulence of disease.
d) Immunological potential of individuals.
24. Epidemiology is defined and characterized by all the following factors except…….
a) Frequency of the disease.
b) Distribution of the disease.
c) Determinants of the disease stressors.
d) None of the above.
25. The field of microbiology determines that an epidemiologist functions by………
a) Studying people exposed to disease and non-exposed people to determine
the vital consequence of the disease exposure.
b) Studying healthy people to determine the crucial difference between those
who get a disease and those who are unaffected.
c) Studying the distribution and determinants of health-related events in
specified populations and the subsequent application of this study to
control health problems.
d) All of the above.
26. Franscesco Stelluti made his contribution to the controversy of spontaneous
generation by observing ……………… using a microscope in the early 17th century.
a) Bees.
b) Maggots.
c) Weevils.
d) A and C only.
27. Modern times require that during the improved and experimental application of
the Koch’s postulates in a research study, a microbiologist may require to
undergo……..
a) Clinical examination.
b) Histopathological assessment.
c) Haematological evaluation.
d) All the above.
28. Most common causative microbe for food poisoning is ……….
a) E.coli.
b) Shigella.
c) Salmonella.
d) All the above
29. The first scientist to indicate that microorganisms can cause diseases by
demonstrating that silkworm disease was caused by a fungus was …………….. .
a) Agostino Bassi.
b) Louis Pasteur
c) JM. Berkeley.
d) Francesco Redi.
30. ……………….. is the scientist that proved that the Great Potato Blight of Ireland was
caused by a fungus.
a) Felix Pouchet.
b) Agostino Bassi.
c) JM. Berkeley.
d) Louis Pasteur
31. Louis Pasteur demonstrated that the Pébrine disease was caused by a ……….. after
years of research.
a) Bacterial agent.
 b) Protozoan parasite.
c) Viral pathogen.
d) Fungal microbes.
32. The most indirect piece of evidence that proved microorganisms to be causing
diseases came from the work of the …………………on the prevention of wound
infection.
a) English surgeon Joseph Lister.
b) French surgeon Edward Jenner.
c) French scientist Louis Pasteur.
d) English surgeon Charles Chamberland
33. ………………identified viruses as disease-causing agents for the Tobacco Mosaic
Virus disease in the late 19th century.
a) Agostino Bassi.
b) Charles Chamberland.
c) Louis Pasteur.
d) Edward Jenner.
34. The smallpox vaccine was first developed for use by the scientist …………..
a) Joseph Lister.
b) Agostino Bassi.
c) Charles Chamberland.
d) Edward Jenner.
35. The final contributions of ……………… was also to develop other vaccines including
those for chickenpox, cholera, anthrax and rabies.
a) Joseph Lister.
b) Charles Chamberland.
c) Louis Pasteur.
d) Edward Jenner.
36. The main energy sources for the bacteria include………
a) Organic chemicals
b) Inorganic chemicals.
c) Photosynthesis.
d) All the above.
37. The major difference between the bacteria and the archaea is ………….
a) Presence of peptidoglycan cell wall in the archaea.
b) Presence of cellulose cell wall in the archaea.
c) Absence of peptidoglycan cell wall in the bacteria.
d) Absence of peptidoglycan cell wall in archaea.
38. The most distinguishable feature of the archaea group is ………
a) The ability to live in extreme environments.
b) The ability to ferment inorganic chemicals.
c) The ability to tolerate high temperature environments.
d) The ability to be facultative in metabolic diversity.
39. The major types of archaea include all the following except ……..
a) Methanogens.
b) Extreme mesophiles.
c) Extreme halophiles.
d) Extreme thermophiles.
40. Similarities between prokaryotes and eukaryotes include………..
a) Presence of ribosomes
b) Similar metabolic diversity and activity.
c) Contain biomolecules lipids, proteins, nucleic acids and carbohydrates.
d) All the above.
41. Which of these morphological arrangements and appearances of microbes has
been wrongly described?
 a) Streptococcus --chain of rods.
b) Diplococcus--pair of spheres.
c) Spirillum—spiral.
d) Staphylobacillus—clusters of rods.
42. Characteristics of fungi include all the following except……..
a) Prokaryotic in nature.
b) Have chitin in their cell walls.
c) Filamentous hyphae that are interwoven into mycelia covering.
d) Both unicellular and multicellular in nature.
43. Locomotion and movement in protozoa is by ………..
a) Cilia.
b) Flagella.
c) Pseudopods.
d) All the above.
44. Protozoa are mostly ……….. as opposed to be ……. in certain instances.
a) Pathogens, decomposers.
b) Saprophytes, decomposers.
c) Free-living, parasites.
d) Parasites, pathogens.
45. Features of algae include all the following except………
a) Produce molecular oxygen and organic compounds
b) Peptidoglycan cell walls
c) Eukaryotic
d) None of the above.
46. Multicellular animal parasites are defined by all the following except….
a) Have microscopic phases in their life cycle.
b) Acellular.
 c) Parasitic flatworms.
d) Round worms.
47. Protothecosis is a type of disease that can be identified by all the following features
except…………
a) It is caused by an algae acting as a mammalian pathogen.
b) It is caused by a type of green alga that contains chlorophyll.
c) It is a disease found in dogs, cats, cattle, and humans.
d) None of the above.
48. The most active phase of the microbial growth stages is the ………….
a) Stationary phase.
b) Lag stage.
c) Exponential stage.
d) Death phase.
49. The mean generation time is defined as the amount of time required for the
concentration of cells to ……….. during the log stage. It is expressed in units of
………..
a) Increase, Seconds.
b) Double, Minutes.
c) Double, Seconds.
d) Increase, Minutes.
50. Light scattering during turbidity microbial assessment is measured as optical
absorbance with………….
a) Spectrophotometer.
b) Photometer.
c) Spectrometer.
d) None of the above.
51. The open system of a continuous culture is achieved via the use of ………
 a) Fresh media.
b) Chemostat.
c) Hemostat.
d) Incubator.
52. The concentration of cells in a continuous culture will reach an equilibrium level that
remains constant as long as …………….is maintained.
a) Optimal temperature.
b) Optimal pressure.
c) Adequate aeration.
d) Nutrition level.
53. A basic chemostat system has at least ….. main vessels for efficient functioning.
a) 2
b) 3
c) 4
d) 5
54. Which of the following descriptions has been wrongly matched to the designated
group?
a) Mesophiles: Optimum growth around 20 – 45ºC
b) Psychrotrophs: Can grow at 0 – 10ºC; optimum between 20 – 30ºC and
maximum around 35ºC
c) Psychrophiles: Grows well optimally between 80ºC – 115ºC
d) Thermophiles: Optimum around 55 – 65 ºC
55. Factors that influence microbial growth include all the following except………
a) pH.
b) Temperature.
c) Nutritional needs.
d) None of the above.
56. The main trophic types of organisms is based on their nutritional requirement of
……..
a) Nitrogen source.
b) Carbon source.
c) Phosphate source.
d) Sulfur source.
57. The catabolism of amino acids lead to ………. Form of nitrogen for use.
a) Reduced inorganic.
b) Oxidized inorganic.
c) Organic.
d) Inorganic.
58. Ammonium and dissolved nitrogen gas are classified as ……… forms of nitrogen.
a) Reduced inorganic.
b) Oxidized inorganic.
c) Reduced Organic.
d) Oxidized organic.
59. Nitrate and nitrites are also classified as ………. Forms of nitrogen.
a) Reduced inorganic.
b) Oxidized inorganic.
c) Inorganic.
d) Oxidized organic.
60. In the preparation of a culture media, certain microbes require exquisite amounts
of …….
a) Amino acids.
b) Vitamins.
c) Nucleotide bases.
d) Any of the above.
61. Bending of light is referred to as the ……… of light.
a) Diffraction.
b) Reflection.
c) Refraction.
d) Dispersal.
62. Staining of specimen for viewing under microscopes is to achieve…….
a) Preservation of specimen for future use.
b) Increased visibility.
c) Highlighting of certain morphological features.
d) Any of the above.
63. The importance of fixation during microbiological work include all the following
except……………………….
a) Activate enzymes that distort cell morphology.
b) Enable stained cells to be highly similar to the living cells during
observation.
c) Toughen the cell structure so they do not change during staining and
observation
d) None of the above.
64. The chemical composition of all staining dyes is described below, which of the
following is a wrong description?
a) Benzene—organic compound.
b) Auxochrome—salt ionization component.
c) Chromogen—basic color.
d) None of the above.
65. Basic dyes are known to be ……..
a) Cationic in nature
b) Bind to negatively charged molecules.
 c) Function at alkaline pH levels.
d) All the above.
66. Basic dyes are used for bacterial cell walls mainly due to ……..
a) The pH.
b) The charge.
c) Peptidoglycan.
d) All the above.
67. Basic dyes include all the following except ……
a) Safranin.
b) Crystal violet.
c) Eosin.
d) Carbol fuchsin.
68. Acidic dyes include all the following except ………..
a) Nigrosine.
b) Eosin.
c) Safranin.
d) None of the above.
69. Which of the following facts is true about acidic dyes?
a) Bind to bacterial and fungi cell walls.
b) Anionic functionality.
c) Used around pH 6.5-8.5.
d) All the above.
70. The main methods of staining in microbiology include all the following except……..
a) Gram staining.
b) Simple staining.
c) Negative staining.
d) Differential staining.
71. Which of the following does not apply as a specialized form of staining whereby
specific features are employed for use?
a) Capsule stain.
b) Endospore stain.
c) Flagella stain.
d) Acid fast stain.
72. Heat fixing during slide preparation accomplishes all the following except…….
a) Adhere cell / organism to the slide.
b) Kill the organism.
c) Make preparation clear for viewing.
d) Aids in subsequent dye staining.
73. The best shape to make whenever smearing on a slide is in the form of ………….
a) Triangle.
b) Circle.
c) Square.
d) Oval.
74. The smear is soaked in the dye reagent during simple stain for a period of ………… to
achieve effective staining of the cells.
a) 30-60 seconds.
b) 60-90 seconds.
c) 1-2 minutes.
d) 2-4 minutes.
75. Acid fast bacillus test is also known as …….. in some scientific circles of study.
a) Phenol fusion method.
b) Carbol fuschin method.
c) Ziehl-Neelsen method.
d) Negative stain method.
76. The acid fast stain method is a ………… that is used when harsher means are required
to stain bacterial cells that ………..
a) Differential stain, dissolve easily.
b) Differential stain, do not stain easily.
c) Negative stain, have very thin cell walls.
d) Specialized stain, do not stain easily.
77. Acid fast stain is a heated mixture of …… and ……..
a) Phenol, eosin.
b) Nigrosine, methanol.
c) India ink, alcohol.
d) Phenol, Fuchsin.
78. The Gram Stain theory indicates that bacteria can be divided into two main groups
based on the morphology of their …………
a) Cell membrane.
b) Cell wall.
c) Protoplasm.
d) Exterior capsule.
79. Aside from the thin peptidoglycan cell wall, the other morphological feature that
can be used to distinguish the gram-negative bacteria from the gram-positive is the
presence of……..
a) Thin cell membrane.
b) Protoplasmic space.
c) Outer membrane.
d) None of the above.
80. Epidemiological triad constitutes ……….
a) Pathogenic agent.
b) Environment.
 c) Host.
d) All the above.
81. The most evident trait or feature that is present in all members of the
epidemiological triad is in the ……… form.
a) Biological.
b) Physical.
c) Chemical.
d) Socioeconomic.
82. The importance of studying the epidemiology of communicable diseases is due to
…..
a) The discovery of new infections.
b) Changes in the pattern of emerging infectious diseases.
c) The possibility of chronic diseases having an infective origin.
d) All the above.
83. There are … main levels of infection upon initial contact that are displayed in the
host.
a) 2
b) 3
c) 4
d) 5.
84. The gradients of infection include all the following except……….
a) Colonization.
b) Subclinical and apparent infection.
c) Manifestation / clinical infection
d) Latent infection.
85. …………are mostly inanimate substances that serve as means of transmission in
disease development.
 a) Vectors.
b) Infectious agents.
c) Fomites.
d) Indirect vectors.
86. All the following can be identified as a contagious disease except ……..
a) Leprosy.
b) Common cold.
c) Diabetes.
d) None of the above.
87. An organism that can afford subsistence to an infectious agent under most natural
conditions is considered as a ………….
a) Vector.
b) Host.
c) Fomite.
d) All the above.
88. There are … major types of host organisms involved in disease development.
a) 2
b) 3
c) 4
d) 5
89. Which of the following is a type of host organism for an infectious disease?
a) Tertiary host.
b) Secondary host.
c) Facultative host.
d) Primary host.
90. The major target of any living vector of an infection is the ……….. individuals in the
community.
 a) Immunocompetent.
b) Immunosuppressed.
c) Insusceptible.
d) All of the above.
91. ……………is mostly viewed as the natural habitat of infectious agents.
a) Host.
b) Vector.
c) Fomite.
d) Reservoir.
92. ………….. is any organism, plant, soil, or a combination of these, in which an infectious
agent normally lives and multiplies, on which it depends primarily for survival and
prepares for further transmission.
a) Host.
b) Vector.
c) Fomite.
d) Reservoir.
93. The success of a reservoir during disease development depends on ………….
a) Its suitable environment for survival of infectious agent.
b) Its ability to support reproduction of infectious agent.
c) Its platform for the multiplication and enhancement of infectious agent
for further transmission.
d) All of the above.
94. ………………… is the number of cases at a given time, and is a product of incidence and
duration of disease. It is expressed as a percent at a given time.
a) Cumulative incidence.
b) Prevalence of infectious disease.
c) Incidence density.
 d) Prevalence incidence.
95. …………..is the unusual occurrence of a disease, specific health related behavior or
other health related events in excess of expected outcome in a community.
a) Pandemic.
b) Epidemic.
c) Outbreak.
d) Endemic.
96. ……………. is the constant presence of a disease within a given geographic area or
population group with an expected frequency of the disease within a population.
a) Pandemic.
b) Epidemic.
c) Outbreak.
d) Endemic.
97. ………….. refers to a disease that is constantly present at high incidence or prevalence
rate and affects all age groups equally in a community.
a) Endemic.
b) Hyperendmic.
c) Holoendemic.
d) Epidemic.
98. ………………… is defined by a high level of infection beginning early in life and affecting
most of the child population in a given population.
a) Endemic.
b) Hyperendmic.
c) Epidemic.
d) Holoendemic.
99. …………… is an epidemic affecting a large proportion of the population, occurring
over a wide geographic area such as a section of a nation, entire nation, a continent
or the world.
a) Pandemic.
b) Hyperendmic.
c) Holoendemic.
d) Exotic disease.
100. A disease is said to be sporadic whenever the recorded cases ……….
a) Have no recognizable common infection source.
b) Are few and widely separated in terms of time and place.
c) Have no little or no connection to each other.
d) All of the above.
101. A sporadic disease tends to become endemic in nature whenever……………
a) Individuals are less involved and uneducated about it.
b) Conditions for spread become favourable.
c) Quarantine and isolation protocols are not adhered to.
d) Cases become less irregular.
102. During the further spread of an epidemic, cases are described as being in either
generations or ……….
a) Magnitude.
b) Waves.
c) Outbreaks.
d) None of the above.
103. ……………. is an infection that is transmissible under natural conditions from
vertebrate animals to man.
a) Enzotic.
b) Epizotic.
 c) Zoonotopia.
d) Zoonosis.
104. ………….. is an epidemic outbreak of a disease in an animal population.
a) Enzotic.
b) Epizotic.
c) Zoonotopia.
d) Zoonosis.
105. ……………. is an endemic outbreak occurring in animal population.
a) Enzotic.
b) Epizotic.
c) Zoonotic.
d) Zoonosis.
106. The reproductive rate of infection is defined as ……………………..
a) Transmission rate of infection in a population.
b) Frequency of reproduction of the infectious agent.
c) Percentage of infected and recovering individuals at time of observation.
d) Potential for an infectious disease to spread.
107. The reproductive rate of an infection is influenced by all the following except
………….
a) Duration of infection.
b) Frequency of population contact.
c) Probability of transmission between infected and susceptible.
d) Proportion of infected population.
108. The dynamics of disease transmission also known as the chain of infection
comprises all the following except ……….
a) Modes of transmission.
b) Reservoir.
 c) Host.
d) None of the above.
109. The starting point for the occurrence of a communicable disease is the ……………
a) Host.
b) Mode of transmission.
c) Reservoir.
d) Vector.
110. The immediate source in the chain of infection is designated as the ………
a) Susceptible host.
b) Reservoir.
c) Vector.
d) Primary case.
111. There are ……. Types of reservoir as considered under the dynamics of disease
transmission.
a) Two.
b) Three.
c) Four.
d) Five.
112. According to the spectrum of diseases, there are ……. Major types of human cases
of disease occurrence in a population.
a) Two.
b) Three.
c) Four.
d) Five
113. Clinical cases are categorized into all the following except…………..
a) Mild cases.
b) Atypical cases.
 c) Sub-clinical cases.
d) Severe-typical cases.
114. Human reservoir as carriers are represented in the form of …………
a) Healthy.
b) Incubatory.
c) Convalescent.
d) All of the above.
115. A person is considered as been in a carrier state whenever there is …………………
a) The absence of recognizable symptoms and signs of disease.
b) The presence of the disease agent in the body.
c) The shedding of disease agent in the discharge or excretions.
d) All of the above.
116. Direct mode of disease transmission include all the following except ……..
a) Air-borne.
b) Droplet infection.
c) Contact with soil.
d) Mucosa inoculation.
117. Biological vector transmission module is achieved through all the following except
…….
a) Cyclo-developmental.
b) Propagative.
c) Bio-developmental.
d) Cyclo-propagative.
118. Successful parasitism is achieved in a susceptible host via ……… Main stages.
a) Two.
b) Three.
c) Four.
 d) Five.
119. Which of the following is not a stage required for successful parasitism in a
susceptible human host?
a) Portal of exit.
b) Survival in the internal environment.
c) Portal of entry.
d) Site of election in the body.
120. ………………… is the proportion of infected individuals the die from an infection over
a period of duration.
a) Infectious period.
b) Serial interval.
c) Case fatality rate.
d) None of the above.
121. …………… is the gap in time between the onset of the primary and the secondary
cases.
a) Infectious period.
b) Serial interval.
c) Case fatality rate.
d) Latent period.
122. …………………. is the interval between receipt of infection and maximal infectivity of
the host.
a) Communicable period.
b) Serial interval.
c) Infectious period.
d) Latent period.
123. ……………. is the duration of time that a person can transmit the disease by shedding
the infectious agent.
 a) Communicable period.
b) Serial interval.
c) Generation time.
d) Latent period.
124. …………… is the time interval between invasion by an infectious agent and the
appearance of the first sign or symptom of the disease under consideration.
a) Latent period.
b) Serial interval.
c) Generation time.
d) Incubation period.
125. The period between initial exposure and the onset of infectiousness in a
susceptible host is termed as the …………..
a) Communicable period.
b) Incubation period.
c) Latent period.
d) Infectious period.
126. …………. is a measure of risk transmission from infected to susceptible individuals
during a contact action.
a) Transfer Probability Ratio (TPR).
b) Transmission Probability Rate (TPR).
c) Transmission Probability Ratio (TPR).
d) Transfer Probability Rate (TPR).
127. TPR can be calculated by determining the differences in all the following factors
except………..
a) Infectious hosts.
b) Infectious agents.
c) Infectious strains.
 d) Infectious routes.
128. There are …….. types of TPR measures in current use.
a) Two.
b) Four.
c) Three.
d) Five.
129. Which of the following TPRs has been described correctly?
a) p10: tp from unvaccinated infective to unvaccinated susceptible
b) p01: tp from vaccinated infective to unvaccinated susceptible
c) p00: tp from unvaccinated infective to vaccinated susceptible
d) All of the above.
130. Which of the following is a wrong calculation for the TPR measures stated in
principle?
a) To estimate the effect of a vaccine in reducing susceptibility, compare the
ratio of p10 to p00.
b) To estimate the effect of a vaccine in reducing infectiousness, compare the
ratio of p01 to p00.
c) To estimate the effect of vaccine in reducing infectiousness, compare the
ratio of p00 to p01.
d) To estimate the combined effect of a vaccine, compare the ratio of p11 to
p00.
131. Which of the following definitions have been wrongly attributed to their assigned
terms?
a) Bacteriocidal; kills bacteria and associated cells.
b) Fungistatic; inhibit the growth of fungal cells.
c) Bacteriostatic; inhibit the entry and sepsis of bacteria.
d) Antiseptic; prevention of further infection.
132. Advantages of the hot air oven dry heat method include all the following
except…………
a) Glass ware and metal plates are not corroded.
b) Used in the sterilization of powders and oils.
c) Effective for heat sensitive materials.
d) None of the above.
133. Which of the following can be considered as physical methods of sterilizing items
for laboratory work?
a) Filtration.
b) Radiation.
c) Freezing.
d) All the above.
134. The accepted characteristics of a chemical for microbial control include all the
following except ……………
a) Efficiency changes with alterations in pH and temperature.
b) Not harmful to untargeted body, clothes and metals.
c) Effective on all surfaces of work.
d) Ability to destroy microbes within shortest time possible.
135. Antimicrobial chemical agents that target the denaturing of the protein portions
of microbes include all the following except ……………..
a) Detergents.
b) Alcohols.
c) Heavy metals.
d) None of the above.
136. COVID-19 stands for ……………………

True / False.
137. Biological nomenclature states that by custom once a scientific name is mentioned
once, it can be abbreviated with initial of genus followed by specific epithet in
subsequent instances. True / False.
138. The specific epithet is derived from the specific genus that the identified organism
is known or believed to belong to. True /
False.
139. The genus and the species that organisms belong to is the only factor used in
generating biological nomenclature always.
True / False.
140. The characteristics shared by organisms in a taxonomic group decrease in
similarities as one moves down the level of taxon.
True / False.
141. Beneficial microbes are to be controlled whilst pathogenic microbes are to be
enhanced. True / False.
142. John Tyndall prevented dust from entering a flask of media by prior heating that
led to no microbial growth. True /
False.
143. Felix Pouchet claimed conclusively that microbial growth could occur without air
contamination. True /
False.
144. Louis Pasteur had not only resolved the controversy of spontaneous Generation by
1861 but had also shown how to keep a solution sterile.
True / False.
145. Miasmas are believed to be in the form of supernatural and poisonous vapors.
True / False.
146. A pathologist identifies diseases based on the examination of cells and tissues that
are removed from the body. True /
False.
147. A disease is a physical or functional disorder of normal body systems that places
an individual at decreased risk of adverse consequences. True /
False.
148. Diseases are diagnosed by physicians and other health care providers through a
combination of clinical diagnostic tools. True / False.
149. The damage from an infectious disease is either originated from the underlying
infection or due to immune response to the infection.
True / False.
150. Outbreaks can last from days to years or occur seasonally year-after-year.
True / False.
151. It is generally believed that all cases of an outbreak are related in some way and
are less localized than epidemics. True /
False.
152. Epidemiologists study only sick people as mandated by their work specifications.
True / False.
153. Koch’s Postulates are still used to establish the link between a particular
microorganism and a particular disease.
True / False.
154. Most E. coli strains are harmless, but a few pathogenic strains exist that usually
cause food poisoning.
True / False.
155. Chickens carry E. coli in their guts instead of salmonella sp. True / False.
156. The most common source of pathogenic E.coli is on unwashed vegetables.
True / False.
157. Louis Pasteur was asked by the French government to investigate the Pébrine
disease of silkworms that was affecting their silk industry before he embarked on
his study of the process of fermentation.
True / False.
158. The Pébrine disease was controlled by raising caterpillar from eggs produced by
healthy moths.
True / False.
159. Prokaryotes consists of only the archaea and bacteria groups. True /
False.
160. The elaborate nature of bacterial cell shapes is due to their lack of internal
cytoskeletons. True / False.
161. Moulds are unicellular and yeasts are multicellular. True /
False.
162. Protozoa are eukaryotic in nature and obtain energy from organic chemicals.
True / False.
163. Viruses are replicated only when they are in a living host cell. True /
False.
164. Protozoa are microorganisms that prefer inorganic sources of chemical energy to
that of organic forms.
True / False.
165. Prototheca is a form of green alga that is known to lack chlorophyll in its cells.
True / False.
166. Parasitic flatworms and round worms are also called Helminths. True /
False.
167. Prokaryotes are all unicellular whilst eukaryotes are only multicellular.
True / False.
168. The mean generation time is also referred to as the doubling time. True /
False.
169. Growth rate is directly proportionally to mean generation time. True /
False.
170. Mean generation time is determined indirectly from a log plot of bacterial
concentration against time after inoculation.
True / False.
171. Optical absorbance is directly proportional to the concentration of bacteria in the
suspension when using turbidity as a measure of microbial growth. True /
False.
172. Turbidity as a measure of microbial growth is based on the diffraction of light by
bacteria in a broth culture. True /
False.
173. A continuous culture is an open system in which fresh media is continuously added
to the culture at a constant rate. True /
False.
174. Growth in microbiology is generally used to refer to the acquisition of biomass
leading to cell division and / or reproduction.
True / False.
175. The suffix “-phile” is often used to describe conditions that permit microbial
growth, whereas the term “tolerant” describes conditions in which the organisms
survive harsh conditions and then later grow.
True / False.
176. Obligate dictates that a given condition is required for growth whiles Facultative
implies that the organism can grow under said condition, but doesn’t require it.
True / False.
177. Sub-optimal conditions relate to facultative organisms as well as certain strict living
organisms. True / False.
178. Microaerophiles need oxygen concentrations in the range of 10-20 % in their
environment. True / False.
179. Heterotrophs use an inorganic carbon source whilst autotrophs need an organic
carbon source.
True / False.
180. Inorganic sulfur becomes sulfate when it is oxidized and sulfide when it is reduced.
True / False.
181. Lenses can be said to be a collection of prisms as they are able to bend light rays
at various angles.
True / False.
182. Fixation is defined as the process by which the external features of a cell and
microorganisms are preserved and fixed in position. True /
False.
183. Heat fixation preserves the overall morphology and structure whilst chemical
fixation has more effect in the internal organization of the cell.
True / False.
184. All dyes used in microbial staining are ionizing salts. True / False.
185. Auxochrome with Chromogen allows the dye to form salt compounds that adhere
to cells. True / False.
186. Whenever acidic dye is used in negative staining, the cells that are stained appear
colorless against a dark background.
True / False.
187. In simple staining, only the cells of interest are stained. True /
False.
188. As Gram staining requires two dyes, so as simple stain uses two dye reagents.
True / False.
189. Simple stain can be carried out by both acidic and basic dyes. True /
False.
190. The Gram Stain theory states that bacterial cells are either gram-positive when
stained red or gram-negative when they are purple.
True / False.
191. A communicable disease is an illness due to a specific infectious agent or its toxic
products capable of being only directly transmitted from man to man, from animal
to man, from animal to animal, or from the environment to man.
True / False.
192. An infection does always cause illness in their host in the long run.
True / False.
193. Infection can be simply defined as the entry and development or subsequent
multiplication of an infectious agent in the body of man or animals.
True / False.
194. Infestation can also be defined as the invasion of the gastrointestinal tract by
parasitic worms.
True / False.
195. A contagious disease is the one that is transmitted through contact and heredity.
True / False.
196. The definite host is also called the main obligate host for an infectious disease.
True / False.
197. A host for an infectious disease can be intermediate as well as a transport host.
True / False.
198. The main routes by which vectors carry out their transmission of infectious agents
is by mechanical and biological means. True /
False.
199. Incidence of an infectious disease is the number of new cases in a given time period
expressed as a percentage of infected per year or number per person infected at
time of observation. True /
False.
200. Cumulative incidence is the percentage of infected per year whilst incidence
density is the number of infected per person at time of observation.
True / False.
201. Prevalence of an infectious disease is viewed as vital information during an
infectious disease of long duration and less so for an infectious disease of short
duration. True / False.
202. Epidemics can be endemic in behavior and pattern under certain circumstances.
True / False.
203. A state of equilibrium whereby the adult population shows occurrence of the
disease much less commonly than the children is evident in a period of
hyperendemic. True / False.
204. Attack rate of a disease is the proportion of non-immune exposed individuals who
become clinically ill with the disease.
True / False.
205. The person who comes into and infects a population is the primary case and the
subsequent cases are defined as index cases.
True / False.
206. Nosocomial infections are hospital acquired infections in a patient that are mostly
new disorders that are related to the patient’s primary health condition.
True / False.
207. Opportunistic infection is an infection caused by infectious organisms that take the
opportunity provided by a host’s immune-competency to infect the host and cause
disease. True / False.
208. The proportion of the immune in the population and the virulence of the infectious
organism are inclusive factors for measuring the reproductive rate of an infection.
True / False.
209. A non-living reservoir can be described as fomite in principle. True /
False.
210. The dynamics of disease transmission states that a human reservoir is either a case
situation or carrier of infection.
True / False.
211. A case is defined as an individual in the population or study group identified as
having the particular disease, health disorder, or condition under investigation.
True / False.
212. Soil and inanimate matter may harbor infectious agents that causes tetanus and
anthrax. True / False.
213. The vector-borne transmission method is classified as a direct transmission mode
for disease development. True /
False.
214. The dynamics of disease transmission identifies vertical means of transmission as
a trans-placental type of disease transfer. True /
False.
215. Transmission via hands and fingers is viewed as an indirect transmission mode for
disease infection for humans.
True / False.
216. Virulence defined as the degree of pathogenicity is also referred to as the disease
evoking power of a microorganism in a given host. It is expressed as the ratio of the
 number of cases of overt infection to the total number infected, as determined by
immunoassay. True / False.
217. The case fatality rate arises only when death serves as the criterion of severity for
an infectious disease or whenever there are few mild cases recorded.
True / False.
218. The generation time under the dynamics of disease transmission is also referred
to as the serial interval.
True / False.
219. The time from initial exposure to the development of the disease is known as the
latent period. True /
False.
220. Disinfecting agents are mostly chemical agents that are only used on inanimate
objects. True / False.
221. The main aim of sanitization is to reduce the microbial population to levels that is
considered safe by public health standards. True /
False.
222. Antiseptic agents serve as approved means for the prevention of infection or
sepsis. True / False.
223. Pasteurization is the heating at a temperature above boiling point suitable enough
to kill most spoilage microorganisms. True /
False.
224. Moist heat is a physical method that is applied by exposure to hot heat for 10
minutes so as to destroy vegetative cells and endospores present.
True / False.
225. Deci-thermal reduction time (D value) is the lowest temperature at which a
microbial suspension is killed within 10 mins of exposure whiles Thermal death (TD)
 is the time required to kill 90% of microorganisms in a given sample at a specific
temperature. True / False.
226. Dry heat is a physical method whereby sterilization is carried out in a hot air oven
for 2-3hrs so as to oxidize the cell constituents and denature the proteins. Dry heat
is viewed as less effective than moist heat.
True / False.

Section B.
1. Outline the experimental design carried out by Lazarro Spallanzani in his
attempts to test out the theory of spontaneous generation and the observational
comments / proposals that he contributed to the controversy.

A. Improved on Needham’s experimental design by first sealing glass flasks

that contained water and seed.
B. When the sealed flask was placed in boiling water for 3-4 hours, no
growth occurred.
C. He proposed that, air carried germs to the culture medium.
D. He also commented that external air may be required for the growth of
animals already in the medium.

2. Define the following terminologies in relation to microbiology.

i. Infection.
ii. Outbreak
iii. Epidemic.
iv. Pandemic.
v. Sporadic Disease.
 A. Infection-- Is a process where by a microorganism enters an individual host,
attach and multiply and do some damage. Infection is the entry and
development or multiplication of an infectious agent in the body of man or
animals. An infection does not always cause illness.

B. Outbreak-- The occurrence of a disease is classified as an outbreak when it

occurs in greater numbers than normally expected. It could occur in a larger
area or region, a smaller community, or even a specific location, such as a
hospital. It can last from days to years or occur seasonally year-after-year.
All cases of an outbreak are related in some way and in general, are more
localized than epidemics.

C. Epidemic-- Is an increase in the number of disease cases expected in an area,

but is generally a more widespread situation than an outbreak. An epidemic
generally has more disease cases over a larger region than an outbreak.

D. Pandemic-- Is an epidemic that occurs over large areas such as entire

countries or continents and affects a large proportion of the population.
Pandemics have the potential to spread to multiple countries.

E. Sporadic disease-- Occurring occasionally, singly, or in scattered instances.

Also arising or occurring randomly with no known cause.

3. Explain what is meant by Koch’s Postulates and give out all the Postulates.
 Koch’s Postulates is the causal relationship between microorganisms and the
diseases they cause.
A. Microorganism must be present in every case of the disease but absent in
healthy organism.
B. The suspected microorganism must be isolated and grown in a pure
culture
C. The same disease must result when the isolated microorganism is
inoculated in a health host
D. The same microorganism must be isolated again from the host.

4. Using the criteria of Koch’s Postulates, briefly explain how Robert Koch developed
the postulates through his experimentation on mice.

A. Koch injected healthy mice with materials from diseased (anthrax)

animals and the mice became ill.
B. After transferring anthrax from inoculation into a series of 20 mice, he
inoculated a piece of spleen containing the anthrax bacillus in beef serum.
C. The bacilli grew, reproduced and produced spores
D. When the isolated bacillus or spores were injected into the mice, anthrax
developed.

5. Differentiate between the prokaryotes and the eukaryotes through five distinct
features.

PROKARYOTES EUKARYOTES
A. NO definite nucleus. Has a nucleus with a nuclear envelope
 B. NO membrane bound organelles Have membrane bound organelles (Golgi
(just ribosomes). bodies, lysosomes…etc)

C. Mostly all are unicellular. Can be unicellular or multicellular

organisms

D. Relatively smaller than Relatively bigger than prokaryotic cells.

eukaryotic cells
E. Forerunner to eukaryotic cells Bigger and more complex than
(smaller and simpler). prokaryotes

F. DNA – single stranded and DNA – double-stranded and forms

circular. chromosomes (highly organized)

G. Example: Bacteria Examples: animals, plants, fungi

6. List five distinguishing features of viruses.

A. Acellular.
B. Consist of DNA or RNA core.
C. Core is surrounded by a protein coat.
D. Coat may be enclosed in a lipid envelope.
E. Viruses are replicated only when they are in a living host cell.

7. Vividly explain all the stages that take place during the growth of a microbial batch
culture.
A. Lag Phase.
Bacteria adapt themselves to growth conditions. It is the period where the
individual bacterium are maturing and not yet able to divide. During the lag
phase of the bacterial growth cycle, synthesis of RNA, enzymes and other
molecules occurs.

B. Log Phase / Exponential Phase

It is a period characterized by cell doubling. If growth is not limited, doubling
will continue at a constant rate so both the number of cells and the rate of
population increase doubles with each consecutive time period. For this type
of exponential growth, plotting the natural logarithm of cell number against
time produces a straight line.

C. Stationary Phase
This is often due to a growth-limiting factor such as the depletion of an essential
nutrient, and / or the formation of an inhibitory product such as an organic acid.
Stationary phase results from a situation in which growth rate and death rate
are equal.
The number of new cells created is limited by the growth factor and as a result
the rate of cell growth matches the rate of cell death. The result is a smooth
horizontal linear part of the curve during the stationary phase.

D. Death Phase
At this stage, bacteria run out of nutrients and die.
8. Distinguish between the following microbial groups.
i. Halophiles and Osmotolerant.
ii. Aerotolerant anaerobes and Microaerophiles.
iii. Facultative anaerobes and Obligate aerobes.

A. Halophiles require elevated salt concentrations to grow; often require 0.2 M

ionic strength or greater and some may grow at 1 M or greater. whilst
Osmotolerant (halotolerant) organisms grow over a wide range of salt
concentrations or ionic strengths.

B. Aerotolerant anaerobes can grow equally well in the presence or absence of

oxygen. Whilst Microaerophiles require reduced concentrations of oxygen
(~2 – 10%) for growth.

C. Facultative anaerobes grow best in the presence of oxygen, but are able to
grow (at reduced rates) in the absence of oxygen. Whilst

Obligate aerobes require oxygen for growth (~20%)

9. Distinguish the following types of microbiological media.

i. Complex media.
ii. Chemically defined media.
iii. Differential media.
iv. Selective media.

A. Complex Media
 Exact chemical composition is not known. Often consist of plant or animal
extracts, such as soybean meal, milk protein, etc. Include most routine
laboratory media,
e.g., tryptic soy broth.

B. Chemically Defined Media

The exact chemical composition is known e.g. minimal media used in bacterial
genetics experiments.

C. Differential Media
Contain indicators that react differently with different organisms (for example,
producing colonies with different colours). Used in identifying specific
microbes.

D. Selective media
Contain agents that inhibit the growth of certain bacteria while permitting the
growth of others. Frequently used to isolate specific organisms from a large
population of other contaminants.

10. Outline the steps involved in the process of Gram staining at the laboratory.

A. Application of crystal violet purple primary dye for 1 minute.

B. Application of the mordant iodine for 1 minute.
C. Decolorize with alcohol wash for 15 seconds.
D. Application of safranin counterstain for 1 minute.
E. Rinse with distilled water between each step.
11. Define the following terminologies as used in the field of microbiology.
i. Contamination.
ii. Infestation.
iii. Infection vector.
iv. Exotic disease.
v. Carriers.

A. Contamination-- The presence of an infectious agent on a body surface, on or in

clothes, beddings, toys, surgical instruments or dressings, or other articles or
substances including water and food.

B. Infestation-- It is the lodgment, development and reproduction of arthropods

on the surface of the body or in the clothing, e.g. lice, itch mite. This term could
be also used to describe the invasion of the gut by parasitic worms.

C. Infection vector-- An insect or any living carrier that transports an infectious

agent from an infected individual or its wastes to a susceptible individual or its
food or immediate surroundings. Both biological and mechanical transmissions
are encountered.

D. Exotic disease-- Exotic diseases are those which are imported into a country in
which they do not otherwise occur.

E. Carriers-- It is an infected person or animal that harbors a specific infectious

agent in the absence of discernible (visible) clinical symptoms of disease and
serves as a potential source of infection to others.
12. Differentiate among the following microbial terms.
i. Susceptibility, Sensitivity and Specificity.
ii. Inoculation and Immunization.
iii. Eradication and Elimination.

A. Susceptibility—the state of being predisposed to, the state of being likely or

liable to be influenced or harmed by a particular thing (microbe, disease).

Sensitivity—the ability of a test to correctly identify those with the disease

(true positive rate).

Specificity—the ability of a test to correctly identify those without the

disease (true negative rate).

B. Inoculation—the act of introducing a microbe into a suitable medium of

growth. The introduction of a pathogen or antigen into a living organism to
stimulate the production of antibodies.

Immunization—the process of protecting a person against a disease through

vaccination (introduction of a vaccine into the body to produce immunity to
a specific disease).

C. Eradication—the termination of all transmission of infection by the

extermination of the infectious agent through surveillance and containment.
Eradication is an absolute process, an “all or none” phenomenon, restricted
to termination of infection from the whole world.

Elimination-- The term elimination is sometimes used to describe

eradication of a disease from a large geographic region.