1. Describe two approaches that could be used in sterilizing delicate and heat-sensitive instruments such as endoscopes, catheters, etc.
2. Perform an online search on the effectiveness of using hand sanitizers versus hand washing. Write a brief summary of what you find. Be sure to include the URL of your sources.
3. Occasionally, one will hear the expression that a microbe has become “immune” to a drug. a. In general terms, explain what is actually happening. b. Describe a simple test one could do to determine if drug resistance is developing in a sample.
4. Answer the questions associated with the following hypotheticals: a. Your pregnant neighbor has been prescribed a daily dose of oral tetracycline for acne. Do you think this therapy is advisable for her? Why or why not? b. A woman has been prescribed a broad-spectrum oral cephalosporin for strep throat. What are some possible consequences of taking this antibiotic? c. A man has a severe case of sinusitis that is negative for bacterial pathogens. His physician prescribes an oral antibacterial drug treatment. What is right or wrong with this treatment?
5. For each pathogen, list its portal of entry, the primary disease it causes, and its portal of exit. a. rotavirus b. Plasmodium malariae c. rhinovirus
6. Explain why are urinary tract infections, respiratory tract infections and surgical infections the most common nosocomial infections.
