MCQs on Bacillus anthracis (Bacillus spp), identification- Medical microbiology

                                MCQs on Bacillus spp (Bacillus anthracis)
  

                                               Figure: B. anthracis culture gram stain

1. What is the Gram stain appearance of Bacillus anthracis?
a) Acid-fast
b) Gram-positive    
c) Gram-negative
d) Gram-variable

2. What is a key distinctive feature of B. anthracis that allows it to survive adverse environmental conditions?
a) Capsule formation
b) Hemolysis
c) Motility    
d) Oxygen requirement

3. Which structure in B. anthracis plays a crucial role in evading the host immune system and is a virulence factor?
a) Capsule   
b) Cell wall
c) Endospores
d) Flagella

4. ....................................laid the foundation for establishing a causative relationship between a microorganism and a disease.

a) Fleming's Criteria

b) Jenner's Principles

c) Koch's Postulates   

d) Pasteur's Laws

5. What is the colonial morphological characteristics of B. anthracis on solid media?
a) Large, flat, and irregular colonies with a wrinkled edge   >
b) Red colonies with a white center
c) Small, round, and smooth colonies
d) Transparent colonies

6. Who was the pioneering microbiologist responsible for identifying Bacillus anthracis as the causative agent of anthrax?

a) Alexander Fleming

b) Louis Pasteur

c) Edward Jenner

d) Robert Koch    

7. Which type of hemolysis can be exhibited by some strains of B. anthracis on blood agar plates?
a) Alpha-hemolysis
b) Beta-hemolysis    
c) Gamma-hemolysis
d) No hemolysis

8. When did the outbreak of gastrointestinal and cutaneous anthrax occur in USSR that killed more than 90 people?

a) 1945

b) 1950

c) 1979    

d) 2000

9. Cutaneous anthrax is typically contracted through:

a) Direct contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products    

b) Ingestion of contaminated food

c) Inhalation of spores

d) Injection of contaminated drugs

10. What is the characteristic feature of cutaneous anthrax that often appears at the site of entry?

a) Black eschar

b) Swollen lymph nodes

c) Shortness of breath

d) Small blisters or bumps     

11. What are the initial symptoms of inhalation anthrax?

a) Abdominal pain and diarrhea

b) Flu-like symptoms    

c) Painful swallowing

d) Swollen lymph nodes

12. When was the first human vaccine for anthrax available to the general public?

a) 1900s

b) 1920s

c) 1950s   

d) 1970s

13. Gastrointestinal anthrax is primarily associated with the consumption of:

a) Aerosolized spores

b) Bites from infected insects

c) Contaminated water

d) Undercooked or contaminated meat from infected animals    

14. A drum-maker from New York City got sick while on tour with a dance troupe in Pennsylvania. He had just returned from Africa with four goat skins that he planned to use to make drums. Public health investigators determined he had been exposed to anthrax while processing the goat skins he brought home from Africa. He developed the symptoms of anthrax within a week after the exposure to the spores which got into his lungs and anthrax infection symptoms developed.

When was this case of naturally acquired anthrax reported in United states?

a) 2006   

b) 2009

c) 2011

d) 2019

15. What is the significance of B. anthracis spores in the transmission of anthrax?

a) They are the causative agents of anthrax.

b) They are heat-resistant forms of the bacterium that enable its long-term survival in the environment.

c) They are responsible for person-to-person transmission of anthrax.

d) They are used to create antibiotics against anthrax.

16. Inhalation anthrax is the most severe form of anthrax and is transmitted through:

a) Direct contact with infected animals

b) Inhalation of aerosolized spores     

c) Ingestion of contaminated food

d) Injection of contaminated drugs

17. Who is the renowned microbiologist known for developing the anthrax vaccine and pioneering the field of microbiology?

a) Alexander Fleming

b) Edward Jenner

c) Louis Pasteur    

d) Robert Koch

18. Which of the following antibiotic was first used in the treatment of anthrax in 1944?

a) Azithromycin

b) Clarithromycin

c) Penicillin   

d) Streptomycin

19. Which of the following is a common selective medium used for the culture of B. anthracis?

a) Mannitol Yolk Polymixin B agar (MYPA)

b) MacConeky agar 

c) Nutrient agar

d) PLET (Polymyxin, Lysozyme, EDTA, and Thallous Acetate) agar

20. When was anthrax vaccine for animals first created?

a) 1900

b) 1937

c) 1950

d) 1979

Source: Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC)

Answers:

1. b) Gram-positive    

2. c) Motility 

3. a) Capsule  

4. c) Koch's Postulates 

5. a) Large, flat, and irregular colonies with a wrinkled edge

6. d) Robert Koch

7. b) Beta-hemolysis 

8. c) 1979

9. a) Direct contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products 

10. d) Vesicle. A painless skin sore (ulcer) with a black center that appears after the small blisters or bumps usually on the face, neck, arms, or hand.

   

11. b) Flu-like symptoms

12. c) 1950s   

13. d) Undercooked or contaminated meat from infected animals

14. a) 2006 

15. b) They are heat-resistant forms of the bacterium that enable its long-term survival in the environment.

16. b) Inhalation of aerosolized spores 

17. c) Louis Pasteur  

18. c) Penicillin 

19. d) PLET (Polymyxin, Lysozyme, EDTA, and Thallous Acetate) agar

20. b) 1937. Max Sterne successfully created the anthrax live spore vaccine for animals. This vaccine is still used in animals in most countries. Because of the introduction of routine vaccination of animals against anthrax and the improvements in animal product processing procedures, the number of cases of anthrax in humans declined.