1. The finding of five to six acid-fast bacilli per field in a 7.

Which of the following is an important virulence factor of

fuchsin smear of expectorated sputum should be reported Bacteroides fragilis?
as?
a) 1+ a) Endotoxin
b) 2+ b) Exotoxins
c) 3+ c) Polysaccharide capsule
d) 4+ d) Protease

2. A cervical mucosal abscess specimen was sent to the 8. To ensure that anaerobic conditions have been achieved
laboratory for bacteriologic examination. The culture of this in anaerobic jars or chambers, an oxygen-sensitive indicator
sample grew an anaerobic gram-negative bacillus that was is employed, such as:
inhibited by bile, produced a black pigment and was negative
for indole production and positive for glucose, sucrose and a) Bromocresol purple
lactose fermentation. This isolate would most likely be: b) Methylene blue
c) Methyl red
a) Bacteroides fragilis grp d) Phenol red
b) Bacteroides urealyticus
c) Porphyromonas gingivalis 9. Which of the following is an important cause of food
d) Prevotella melaninogenica poisoning?

3. The diagnosis of Pseudomembranous colitis is often made a) Bacteroides fragilis

by: b) Bacteroides urealyticus
c) Clostridum perfringens
a) Serology d) Clostridum histolyticum
b) Culturing blood specimens
c) Assays to detect toxin in stool 10. Which of the following is not true of Coxiella burnettii?
d) Acid-fast stain of fecal material
a) It is an obligate intracellular parasite
4. A tube of semisolid medium that contains resazurin b) It is transmitted from animals to humans by
appears pink. What does this indicate? inhalation
c) A rash appears first on the extremities and then on
a) Acid environment the trunk
b) Alkaline environment d) Is the etiologic agent of Q fever, which may be
c) Motility acute or chronic
d) Presence of oxygen
11. For nonspecific staining of Rickettsia the recommended
5. Septicemia caused by which of the following is generally stain is
associated with an underlying malignancy?
a) Gimenez stain
a) Bifidobacterium dentium b) Gomori Silver stain
b) Clostridium septicum c) Gram stain
c) Eubacterium lentum d) Kinyoun stain
d) Lactobacillus catenaforme
12. During the first week of leptospirosis, the most reliable
6 Which of the following tests is most appropriate for the way to detect the presence of the causative agent is by the
identification of Clostridium difficile? direct
a) SPS sensitivity test
b) Nagler test a) Culturing of blood
c) Cytotoxin assay b) Culturing of Urine
d) Fluorescence test c) Examination of blood
d) Examination of CSF
13. Which of the following is a characteristic of staphylococci 19. Cardiobacterium hominis, an inhabitant of the upper
that would help in their isolation from clinical specimen? respiratory tract of humans, has been recovered as the
etiologic agent cases of endocarditis. An identifying
a) Bile resistance characteristic of the organism is
b) Growth at 55 degree celcius
c) High salt tolerance a) Positive oxidase
d) Resistance to novobiocin b) Positive Catalase
c) Indole negative
14. Cultures of the posterior pharynx are most commonly d) Inability to grow on sheep blood agar
submitted to the clinical laboratory for the detection of
20. Which of the following Legionella spp. is positive for
a) Corynebacterium diphtheriae Hippurate Hydrolysis?
b) Staphylococcus aureus
c) Streptococcus pneumoniae a) L. micdadei
d) Streptococcus pyogenes b) L. longbeachae
c) L. gormanii
15. The species of Campylobacter noted to produce d) L. pneumophila
septicemia, septic arthritis, meningitis, jaundice with
hepatomegaly, and thrombophlebitis in delibitated patients is: 21. Which of the following is not characteristic of
Haemophilus influenzae biogroup aegyptius?
a) C. coli
b) C. fetus a) Indole negative
c) C. laris b) Requires V factor
d) C. sputorum c) Requires X factor
d) Aminolevulinic acid positive
16. Yersinia pestis is characteristically
22. In the past, povidone iodine, tincture of iodine prep pads
a) Urease negative and swabs, and other disinfectants have been recalled
b) Hydrogen sulfide positive because of microbial contamination. The most likely
c) Motile at 20-25 degree celcius organism to be isolated in these cases is
d) Oxidase positive
a) Bordetella bronchiseptica
17. In Cases of legionellosis b) Klebsiella pneumoniae
c) Pseudomonas aeruginosa
a) Person-to-person transmission is common d) Serratia marcescens
b) Farm animals are important animal reservoirs
c) Patients can present with a self-limited 23. Edwardsiella tarda is occasionally isolated in stool
nonpneumonic febrile illness specimens and can biochemically be confused with
d) Specimens may be cold enriched to enhance
recovery of the organism a) Salmonella
b) Enterohemorrhagic E. coli
18. Which of the following is true of Campylobacter jejuni? c) Vibrio cholera
d) Yersinia enterocolitica
a) Catalase negative
b) Isolated best at 24 degree celcius 24. One of the most common etiologic agents of community-
c) Hydrogen sulfide positive acquired uncomplicated cases of cystitis is
d) A leading cause of bacterial diarrhea worldwide
a) Enterobacter aerogenes
b) Escherichia coli
c) Klebsiella pneumoniae
d) Proteus vulgaris
25. Chronic carriers, persons who remain infected with an c) Cultures should be incubated aerobically and
organism for long periods, are typically associated with the anaerobically
dissemination of d) Collect 5 mL of blood for optimal recovery of
pathogen
a) Bordetella pertussis
b) Campylobacter jejuni 31. The Moeller test for the detection of decarboxylase
c) Salmonella typhi activity is dependent upon
d) Yersinia pestis
a) An alkaline pH shift in the medium
26. Association with faucet aerators and humidifiers b) The oxidation of gluconate
Used with ventilators in intensive care units is commonly a c) An acid pH basal medium
factor in outbreaks of infections with which of the following d) A deamination of tryptophan
microorganism?
32. Which of the following is not a correct statement
a) Klebsiella pneumoniae regarding blood cultures?
b) Pseudomonas aeruginosa
c) Salmonella a) Collection of 10-20 mL per culture for adult is
d) Serratia marcescens recommended
b) Two or three blood cultures are recommended as
27. Reptiles kept as pets are sometimes associated with the optimum
transmission of c) Volume of blood cultured is more critical than the
timing of culture
a) Campylobacter d) Blood drawn for culture maybe allowed to clot
b) Helicobacter
c) Salmonella 33. The recommended anticoagulant for use when a body
d) Vibrio fluid or joint fluid that may clot is sent for microbiologic
examination is
28. Which of the following would not be appropriate for a
positive control in the PYR test? a) Heparin
b) Sodium polyanetholsulfonate
a) Staphylococcus aureus c) Sodium EDTA
b) Staphylococcus lugdunensis d) Sodium citrate
c) Streptococcus pyogenes
d) Enterococcus faecalis 34. Gram-positive rods were recovered from the chest fluid
drawn from a teenager with right lower lobe pneumonia who
29. Continuous blood culture systems that detect changes in lived on a dairy farm. At 24 hours, pinpoint colonies grew on
headspace pressure in bottles are referred to as sheep blood agar that showed faint zone of beta hemolysis.
The isolate was Catalase negative and demonstrated
a) Fluorescence methods positive CAMP test. Which of the following is the most likely
b) 14C detection methods etiologic agent in this case?
c) Colorimetry
d) Manometric methods a) Listeria monocytogenes
b) Streptococcus agalactiae
30. Which of the following is not true of blood cultures for the c) Arcanobacterium pyogenes
recovery of bacteria? d) Streptobacillus moniliformis

a) No more than three cultures should be drawn in 1

day
b) Cultures should be drawn before the expected fever
spike
35. In August, a patient presented at a community hospital in 40. The supervisor of a microbiology laboratory has been
New England with symptoms of a skin rash, headache, stiff asked to begin performing in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility
neck, muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes. A silver – testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis because of an
stained biopsy of s skin lesion showed spirochetes. On the increase in the reported resistance in his community. Which
basis of the clinical syndrome and laboratory detection of a of the following methods would be appropriate for this
causative agent, the patient was diagnosed as having testing?

a) Lyme disease a) Broth microdilution method using Mueller-Hinton

b) Plague broth
c) Rabbit fever b) Kirby-Bauer method
d) Relapsing fever c) BACTEC method
d) Shlichter method
36. A 70year-old female became ill with an intestinal illness
after visiting a petting zoo featuring farm animals such as 41. Metronidazole is most commonly recommended for
calves, lambs, and chickens. She had bloody diarrhea and treatment of infections caused by
went on to develop hemolytic uremic syndrome. The most
likely etiologic agent in this case is a) Aerobic microorganisms
b) Microaerophilic microorganisms
a) Escherichia coli O157:H7 c) Obligate anaerobic microorganisms
b) Shigella dysenteriae d) Obligate intracellular microorganisms
c) Vibrio cholera O1
d) Vibrio cholera non O1 42. When using the rapid Chromogenic cephalosporin
method for the detection of beta-lactamase production by an
37. Which of the following organisms would not routinely organism, a positive test is indicated by the color
undergo antimicrobial susceptibility testing?
a) Yellow
a) Escherichia coli b) Green
b) Proteus mirabilis c) Red
c) Staphylococcus aureus d) Blue
d) Streptococcus pyogenes

38. Beta-lactamase –producing strains of Haemophilus

influenzae are resistant to

a) Chlorampenicol
b) Erythromycin
c) Penicillin
d) Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole

39. An example of bactericidal antibiotic is

a) Chlorampenicol
b) Erythromycin
c) Tetracycline
d) Tobramycin