Q 01/05

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine caused by what kind of organism?

A) A fungus

B) A bacterium

C) A virus

D) A parasite

Answer · why

B) A bacterium

Vibrio cholerae is comma-shaped, Gram-negative and has a single flagellum for swimming.

Q 02/05

Cholera spreads mostly through what?

A) Coughing and sneezing in crowded rooms

B) The bites of infected mosquitoes

C) Water and food contaminated with human faeces

D) Direct contact with infected animals

Answer · why

C) Water and food contaminated with human faeces

Humans are the only known host, and undercooked shellfish is a common source because the bacteria accumulate in plankton.

Q 03/05

Cholera was nicknamed the 'blue death' because of what effect on patients?

A) Their urine turned blue

B) Their skin turned bluish-grey from fluid loss

C) Their lips turned blue from lack of oxygen

D) Their tongues turned blue

Answer · why

B) Their skin turned bluish-grey from fluid loss

Untreated, a patient can lose 10 to 20 litres of 'rice-water' diarrhoea a day.

Q 04/05

What is the primary treatment for cholera?

A) Blood transfusion

B) Oral rehydration salts

C) Antibiotics alone

D) Bed rest and fasting

Answer · why

B) Oral rehydration salts

Slightly sweet and salty solutions, ideally rice-based, replace lost fluids; zinc helps children and IV fluids are used in severe cases.

Q 05/05

Which London physician showed in 1854 that cholera spread through contaminated water, earning the title 'Father of Epidemiology'?

A) John Snow

B) Joseph Lister

C) William Farr

D) Edward Jenner

Answer · why

A) John Snow

He had proposed a microbial origin for cholera in 1849, decades before germ theory was accepted.