ENVS 1126

What is the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic?

An epidemic is a sudden increase in infectious diseases in a large number of people in a population, and a pandemic is when this increase occurs on a global scale.

Why the obsession over everyone's stools? Why is there so much research done on samples of humans' stools compared to other body parts?

It is less invasive and shows diet

Under what conditions might antibiotic resistance be a detriment to a bacterium instead of a benefit?

Where the resistance mechanism incurs an evolutionary fitness cost

What is the predominant use of antibiotics in the United States?

agricultural

On average, about how many different bacterial species do you have in your gut right now?

160

In class, you did 3 exchanges and discovered that a certain number of you (ideally, if my experiment worked, fingers crossed!) had contracted the zombie virus. What would happen if we had continued doing to experiment 2 more times? How many of you would most likely have contracted the zombie virus?

32

Each week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) publish the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report to document the infectious diseases to epidemiologists, physicians, scientists, and others. Why might they report on morbidity and mortality separately instead of just cases in general?

Because although morbidity is pathology or symptoms from disease it gives no information on death from the disease

Why are we discussing deforestation in a lecture about emerging infectious diseases?

Because some infectious vectors are being exposed as a result of deforestation

If you examine the rates of Zika infections in the U.S., the pattern forms a large letter U that goes from the New York coast south to the Texas coast and west to the California coast. Why?

Because that is where the Aedes aegypti are

When measuring coliform bacterial levels in water, it is often necessary to filter it. Why?

Because the CFU/mL count is very low and thus a larger sample has to be collected to grow countable numbers of bacteria

Why is cholera caused by Vibrio cholerae so rare in the U.S.?

Cholera is associated with lack of clean drinking water, which is not a problem in the U.S

Based on what you have learned in this class so far, what is the most likely purpose of the vibrioferrin pathogenicity factors?

Iron acquisition

Why is Bacillus anthracis such a good weapon compared to other microbes we have studied?

It forms spores that remain viable after dispersion

Which one of the following statements can be made about botox (botulinum toxin)?

It is 19 million times more lethal than caffeine.

What do emerging infectious diseases have to do with old discarded tires?

Old tires accummulate water, which allows disease-carrying mosquitos to breed

There is a myth that it is dangerous to eat raw oysters in months that have the letter "R" in their names. This is because it is believed that vibrio levels are highest in those months. What environmental parameter is this myth based on?

Temperature

Which statement regarding non-point pollution is NOT true?

The best way to reduce non-point pollution is by treating the pollution at its source.

About 6 hours after winning a raw oyster eating contest, you start experiencing nausea, vomiting, and watery diarrhea. Because you took Dr. Johnson's ENVS 2126 class, you immediately know that it's likely you have been infected with ___.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus

I just collected an oyster from coastal Louisiana. What bacterium is most likely to be grown from the homogenized oyster tissue?

Vibrio parahaemolyticus

What is the difference between Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp), Vibrio cholerae (Vc), and Vibrio vulnificus (Vv)?;

Vp infects more U.S. citizens than the other 2, Vc is found more in developing countries, and Vv is more of a blood-associated pathogen than the other 2

Of all the cells that make up the human body, how many of them are actually bacterial?

a little more than half

Over the years, there have been several vibrio outbreaks related to people eating raw oysters harvested from the same location, e.g., Galveston Bay. These are examples of ___.

common-source epidemics