Concepts of disease prevention and control MCQs With Answer

Introduction: This concise guide on disease prevention and control is tailored for B.Pharm students to strengthen clinical and public health competence. It covers core concepts like epidemiology, infection control, vaccination, surveillance, herd immunity, and antimicrobial stewardship. Emphasis is placed on primary, secondary and tertiary prevention, outbreak investigation, screening test interpretation, and practical measures such as sterilization, PPE, and cold chain management. Clear understanding of incidence, prevalence, R0, case fatality rate, and vaccine efficacy will support pharmaceutical practice and policy implementation. Now let’s test your knowledge with 30 MCQs on this topic.

Q1. What is the primary aim of primary prevention in public health?

• Detect disease early through screening
• Reduce disease impact by rehabilitation
• Prevent the initial occurrence of disease
• Provide tertiary care to patients

Correct Answer: Prevent the initial occurrence of disease

Q2. Which measure is an example of secondary prevention?

• Immunization against measles
• Mass media health promotion
• Screening for hypertension
• Rehabilitation after stroke

Correct Answer: Screening for hypertension

Q3. Herd immunity threshold depends primarily on which parameter?

• Case fatality rate
• Basic reproduction number (R0)
• Incubation period
• Duration of infectiousness

Correct Answer: Basic reproduction number (R0)

Q4. Which is the best definition of surveillance in disease control?

• Therapeutic management of cases
• Continuous systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health data
• One-time research study on disease burden
• Isolating all suspected patients

Correct Answer: Continuous systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health data

Q5. Which sterilization method is most suitable for heat-sensitive pharmaceutical equipment?

• Autoclaving with moist heat
• Dry heat oven sterilization
• Ethylene oxide gas sterilization
• Boiling water

Correct Answer: Ethylene oxide gas sterilization

Q6. In screening tests, sensitivity measures what?

• Proportion of true negatives correctly identified
• Proportion of true positives correctly identified
• Probability of disease given a positive test
• Overall accuracy of the test

Correct Answer: Proportion of true positives correctly identified

Q7. Which describes tertiary prevention?

• Preventing exposure to risk factors
• Early disease detection to prevent progression
• Reducing disability and improving quality of life after disease
• Mass vaccination campaigns

Correct Answer: Reducing disability and improving quality of life after disease

Q8. Which indicator measures the proportion of new cases in a population over time?

• Prevalence
• Incidence
• Case fatality rate
• Mortality ratio

Correct Answer: Incidence

Q9. Which practice is a standard precaution to prevent healthcare-associated infections?

• Universal glove use without hand hygiene
• Using personal protective equipment and hand hygiene
• Only isolating symptomatic patients
• Relying solely on patient vaccination

Correct Answer: Using personal protective equipment and hand hygiene

Q10. What does R0 (basic reproduction number) indicate?

• Average number of deaths per infected individual
• Average number of secondary cases from one case in a susceptible population
• Proportion immune in a population
• Duration of immunity after infection

Correct Answer: Average number of secondary cases from one case in a susceptible population

Q11. Which vaccine type provides immediate but temporary immunity?

• Live attenuated vaccine
• Inactivated vaccine
• Subunit vaccine
• Passive immunization with antibodies

Correct Answer: Passive immunization with antibodies

Q12. In outbreak investigation, what is the first essential step?

• Implementing mass vaccination
• Confirming the outbreak and case definition
• Publishing findings immediately
• Starting antiviral treatment for all

Correct Answer: Confirming the outbreak and case definition

Q13. Which is an example of a vertical public health program?

• General primary healthcare clinic
• Integrated maternal and child health services
• National tuberculosis control program focused solely on TB
• Community-based health promotion

Correct Answer: National tuberculosis control program focused solely on TB

Q14. Vaccine efficacy measured in clinical trials differs from vaccine effectiveness because efficacy is estimated under what conditions?

• Real-world programmatic conditions
• Strictly controlled trial conditions
• After vaccine is licensed and used widely
• Only in animal models

Correct Answer: Strictly controlled trial conditions

Q15. Which factor most directly compromises cold chain for vaccines?

• Short vaccine shelf-life after reconstitution
• Interruption of recommended temperature range during storage
• Incorrect route of administration
• Inadequate documentation of recipients

Correct Answer: Interruption of recommended temperature range during storage

Q16. Which term defines the proportion of deaths among diagnosed cases of a disease?

• Incidence rate
• Case fatality rate
• Prevalence proportion
• Mortality incidence

Correct Answer: Case fatality rate

Q17. Antimicrobial stewardship programs primarily aim to:

• Increase overall antibiotic prescriptions
• Promote rational antibiotic use and reduce resistance
• Replace infection control measures
• Ensure every patient receives broad-spectrum antibiotics

Correct Answer: Promote rational antibiotic use and reduce resistance

Q18. Which isolation type is appropriate for airborne infectious diseases like tuberculosis?

• Contact isolation only
• Droplet isolation
• Airborne isolation with negative-pressure room
• No isolation required if patient is masked

Correct Answer: Airborne isolation with negative-pressure room

Q19. Screening test specificity refers to:

• Ability to detect disease in early stages
• Proportion of true negatives correctly identified
• Proportion of true positives correctly identified
• Predictive value of a positive result

Correct Answer: Proportion of true negatives correctly identified

Q20. Which measure reduces vector-borne disease transmission most effectively?

• Empirical antibiotic therapy
• Vector control such as insecticide-treated nets and environmental management
• Universal screening of travelers
• Mass media campaigns alone

Correct Answer: Vector control such as insecticide-treated nets and environmental management

Q21. Passive surveillance differs from active surveillance in that passive surveillance:

• Involves proactive case finding by health workers
• Relies on routine reporting from healthcare providers
• Is always more accurate than active surveillance
• Does not require case definitions

Correct Answer: Relies on routine reporting from healthcare providers

Q22. What is the primary public health purpose of contact tracing?

• Treating all contacts with antibiotics
• Identifying and monitoring exposed individuals to interrupt transmission
• Vaccinating contacts regardless of exposure risk
• Collecting demographic data only

Correct Answer: Identifying and monitoring exposed individuals to interrupt transmission

Q23. Which bias can inflate the apparent effectiveness of a screening program?

• Selection bias
• Lead-time bias
• Recall bias
• Observer bias

Correct Answer: Lead-time bias

Q24. Which indicator is useful to assess short-term impact of an epidemic control intervention?

• Prevalence proportion measured annually
• Daily or weekly incidence rates
• Lifetime risk estimates
• Cross-sectional survey at program end

Correct Answer: Daily or weekly incidence rates

Q25. Which is the correct sequence for the chain of infection?

• Reservoir → Mode of transmission → Agent → Susceptible host
• Agent → Reservoir → Portal of exit → Mode of transmission → Portal of entry → Susceptible host
• Susceptible host → Agent → Reservoir → Transmission
• Mode of transmission → Agent → Reservoir → Host

Correct Answer: Agent → Reservoir → Portal of exit → Mode of transmission → Portal of entry → Susceptible host

Q26. Vaccine cold chain monitoring primarily documents which parameter?

• Patient consent
• Temperature maintenance during storage and transport
• Adverse event reporting
• Vaccine lot number only

Correct Answer: Temperature maintenance during storage and transport

Q27. Which statistical measure compares risk of disease between exposed and unexposed groups?

• Odds ratio
• Relative risk (risk ratio)
• Attributable fraction only
• Prevalence ratio only

Correct Answer: Relative risk (risk ratio)

Q28. Which intervention is most appropriate for controlling a point-source foodborne outbreak?

• Long-term vaccination campaign
• Identify and remove the contaminated food source and provide supportive care
• Implement nationwide screening
• Provide mass antibiotic prophylaxis to the entire community

Correct Answer: Identify and remove the contaminated food source and provide supportive care

Q29. Which is a key component of an effective infection prevention and control program in hospitals?

• Unrestricted antibiotic prescribing
• Surveillance of healthcare-associated infections and staff training
• Elimination of standard precautions
• Relying solely on patient vaccinations

Correct Answer: Surveillance of healthcare-associated infections and staff training

Q30. Which concept describes reduction in disease incidence after vaccination of a portion of the population, protecting unvaccinated persons?

• Individual immunity only
• Herd immunity
• Primary prevention failure
• Antigenic drift

Correct Answer: Herd immunity

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