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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the serious condition that the Zika virus sometimes causes in babies?

2. Which organization helped to fund the development of the polio vaccine?

3. What was the American infant mortality rate at the turn of the twentieth century?

4. What was the 1918 flu epidemic commonly known as?

5. In 2014, how many air passengers flew between the United States and the rest of the world?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 2, what intensely personal detail of his early life does Osterholm share with the reader?

2. What is the term Osterholm uses for the process of a microbe moving from one place to another host?

3. What is one of the reasons human are at a disadvantage to microbes?

4. Why was John Snow's work so important in the 1800s?

5. What is one of the factors Osterholm thinks contributed to the anti-vaccine movement?

6. What are some of the current world conditions Osterholm identifies as aiding the transmission of diseases?

7. What common product did Osterholm and his colleagues eventually trace the development of toxic shock syndrome to?

8. Why was the Spanish Flu so named, even though it likely did not originate in Spain?

9. Which populations are most affected by malaria infections?

10. In the Introduction, what are the two metaphors for disease that Osterholm sets out for use throughout the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the Introduction, Osterholm writes that he has come to be known by some in the media as "Bad News Mike." Write an essay explaining why Osterholm earned this nickname, and explain how he views it himself.

Essay Topic 2

What is contact tracing? How does it work, and what are some of the specific illnesses of the past several decades for which Osterholm argues its use was critical to managing outbreaks of? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your findings.

Essay Topic 3

What was the major problem Dr. Scott Halstead identified in 2016 with a potential dengue fever vaccine, and why was the problem apparently unique to this disease? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

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