Page 1 of 107
FOUNDATIONS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE: A PUBLIC HEALTH
PERSPECTIVE QUESTIONS LATEST EDITION 2026 – 2027 VERSION
SOLVED QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
FOUNDATIONS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE: A PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE
1st Edition – David P. Adams
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS AND RATIONALES
SECTION 1: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Questions 1–25
1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were originally
established as what agency and in what year?
A) The National Institute of Health, 1930
B) The Communicable Disease Center, 1946
C) The Public Health Service, 1912
D) The Epidemic Intelligence Service, 1951
E) The National Board of Health, 1879
Answer: B) The Communicable Disease Center, 1946
Rationale: The CDC was originally established as the Communicable Disease Center in
1946 with a primary mission to control malaria transmission in the United States. Its
scope expanded over time to become the nation's premier public health agency.
2. Who is considered the "father of modern epidemiology" for his systematic
investigation of cholera transmission?
A) Robert Koch
B) Louis Pasteur
C) John Snow
, Page 2 of 107
D) Edward Jenner
E) Ignaz Semmelweis
Answer: C) John Snow
Rationale: John Snow is credited as the father of modern epidemiology for his
systematic investigation of cholera transmission in 19th-century London. His removal of
the Broad Street pump handle during the 1854 cholera outbreak is a landmark event in
public health history.
3. Which disease was declared eradicated by the World Health Organization in
1980?
A) Polio
B) Measles
C) Smallpox
D) Malaria
E) Cholera
Answer: C) Smallpox
Rationale: Smallpox was declared eradicated by the WHO in 1980, marking the first and
only human disease to be eradicated through vaccination efforts. Polio eradication
remains ongoing.
4. Who first proposed that diseases are caused by invisible "seeds" (seminaria) that
could be transmitted directly, indirectly, or over long distances?
A) Hippocrates
B) Girolamo Fracastoro
C) Galen
D) Avicenna
E) Thucydides
Answer: B) Girolamo Fracastoro
Rationale: Fracastoro (1546) proposed that diseases are caused by invisible "seeds"
(seminaria) that could be transmitted directly, indirectly, or over long distances. This
was an early contribution to the germ theory of disease.
, Page 3 of 107
5. Robert Koch's postulates are used to:
A) Treat viral infections with antibiotics
B) Establish a causal relationship between a microbe and a disease
C) Develop vaccines for emerging diseases
D) Classify bacteria by their morphology
E) Determine the mode of transmission of a pathogen
Answer: B) Establish a causal relationship between a microbe and a disease
Rationale: Koch's postulates provide a systematic framework for establishing a causal
relationship between a specific microorganism and a particular disease. The postulates
include: (1) the microorganism must be present in every case of the disease; (2) it must
be isolated and grown in pure culture; (3) the pure culture must cause disease when
inoculated into a susceptible host; and (4) the microorganism must be re-isolated from
the experimentally infected host.
6. The 1918 influenza pandemic was caused by which type of virus?
A) H5N1
B) H1N1
C) H3N2
D) H2N2
E) H7N9
Answer: B) H1N1
Rationale: The 1918 influenza pandemic was caused by an H1N1 virus. It infected an
estimated one-third of the world's population and caused an estimated 50 million
deaths worldwide.
7. Who discovered penicillin in 1928?
A) Paul Ehrlich
B) Alexander Fleming
C) Howard Florey
, Page 4 of 107
D) Gerhard Domagk
E) Selman Waksman
Answer: B) Alexander Fleming
Rationale: Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928. Florey and Chain later
developed it into a usable drug. This discovery marked the beginning of the antibiotic
era.
8. The first person to observe and describe microorganisms under a microscope
was:
A) Robert Hooke
B) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
C) Louis Pasteur
D) Girolamo Fracastoro
E) Francesco Redi
Answer: B) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Rationale: Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch scientist, first observed and described bacteria
using a simple microscope in the 1670s. He is often called the "father of microbiology."
9. The discovery that microorganisms cause disease is attributed to which
scientific advancement?
A) The development of the smallpox vaccine
B) The germ theory of disease
C) The discovery of antibiotics
D) The development of antiseptic surgery
E) The invention of the microscope
Answer: B) The germ theory of disease
Rationale: The germ theory of disease, advanced by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch in
the late 19th century, established that microorganisms are the cause of many diseases.
This theory revolutionized medicine and public health.
FOUNDATIONS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE: A PUBLIC HEALTH
PERSPECTIVE QUESTIONS LATEST EDITION 2026 – 2027 VERSION
SOLVED QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
FOUNDATIONS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE: A PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE
1st Edition – David P. Adams
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS AND RATIONALES
SECTION 1: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Questions 1–25
1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were originally
established as what agency and in what year?
A) The National Institute of Health, 1930
B) The Communicable Disease Center, 1946
C) The Public Health Service, 1912
D) The Epidemic Intelligence Service, 1951
E) The National Board of Health, 1879
Answer: B) The Communicable Disease Center, 1946
Rationale: The CDC was originally established as the Communicable Disease Center in
1946 with a primary mission to control malaria transmission in the United States. Its
scope expanded over time to become the nation's premier public health agency.
2. Who is considered the "father of modern epidemiology" for his systematic
investigation of cholera transmission?
A) Robert Koch
B) Louis Pasteur
C) John Snow
, Page 2 of 107
D) Edward Jenner
E) Ignaz Semmelweis
Answer: C) John Snow
Rationale: John Snow is credited as the father of modern epidemiology for his
systematic investigation of cholera transmission in 19th-century London. His removal of
the Broad Street pump handle during the 1854 cholera outbreak is a landmark event in
public health history.
3. Which disease was declared eradicated by the World Health Organization in
1980?
A) Polio
B) Measles
C) Smallpox
D) Malaria
E) Cholera
Answer: C) Smallpox
Rationale: Smallpox was declared eradicated by the WHO in 1980, marking the first and
only human disease to be eradicated through vaccination efforts. Polio eradication
remains ongoing.
4. Who first proposed that diseases are caused by invisible "seeds" (seminaria) that
could be transmitted directly, indirectly, or over long distances?
A) Hippocrates
B) Girolamo Fracastoro
C) Galen
D) Avicenna
E) Thucydides
Answer: B) Girolamo Fracastoro
Rationale: Fracastoro (1546) proposed that diseases are caused by invisible "seeds"
(seminaria) that could be transmitted directly, indirectly, or over long distances. This
was an early contribution to the germ theory of disease.
, Page 3 of 107
5. Robert Koch's postulates are used to:
A) Treat viral infections with antibiotics
B) Establish a causal relationship between a microbe and a disease
C) Develop vaccines for emerging diseases
D) Classify bacteria by their morphology
E) Determine the mode of transmission of a pathogen
Answer: B) Establish a causal relationship between a microbe and a disease
Rationale: Koch's postulates provide a systematic framework for establishing a causal
relationship between a specific microorganism and a particular disease. The postulates
include: (1) the microorganism must be present in every case of the disease; (2) it must
be isolated and grown in pure culture; (3) the pure culture must cause disease when
inoculated into a susceptible host; and (4) the microorganism must be re-isolated from
the experimentally infected host.
6. The 1918 influenza pandemic was caused by which type of virus?
A) H5N1
B) H1N1
C) H3N2
D) H2N2
E) H7N9
Answer: B) H1N1
Rationale: The 1918 influenza pandemic was caused by an H1N1 virus. It infected an
estimated one-third of the world's population and caused an estimated 50 million
deaths worldwide.
7. Who discovered penicillin in 1928?
A) Paul Ehrlich
B) Alexander Fleming
C) Howard Florey
, Page 4 of 107
D) Gerhard Domagk
E) Selman Waksman
Answer: B) Alexander Fleming
Rationale: Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928. Florey and Chain later
developed it into a usable drug. This discovery marked the beginning of the antibiotic
era.
8. The first person to observe and describe microorganisms under a microscope
was:
A) Robert Hooke
B) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
C) Louis Pasteur
D) Girolamo Fracastoro
E) Francesco Redi
Answer: B) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Rationale: Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch scientist, first observed and described bacteria
using a simple microscope in the 1670s. He is often called the "father of microbiology."
9. The discovery that microorganisms cause disease is attributed to which
scientific advancement?
A) The development of the smallpox vaccine
B) The germ theory of disease
C) The discovery of antibiotics
D) The development of antiseptic surgery
E) The invention of the microscope
Answer: B) The germ theory of disease
Rationale: The germ theory of disease, advanced by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch in
the late 19th century, established that microorganisms are the cause of many diseases.
This theory revolutionized medicine and public health.
