Veterinarian Licensure Examination · Philippines · PRC Board of Veterinary Medicine (RA 9268)
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersHow bacteria and fungi are built, grown, identified and killed, and how bacteria become resistant to antimicrobials.
In the exams: ICAR AICE-JRF core group 06; ICAR AIEEA-PG 13 (Microbiology); PRC Microbiology & Public Health 14%; China microbiology and immunology 35 (its largest single component); TNPSC Micro/VPH/Preventive Medicine 30
Philippine Veterinarian Licensure Examination — Microbiology and Public Health
Identification of bacteria by stain, culture and biochemical reactions, sterilisation and disinfection in practice, fungal diseases and diagnosis, and antimicrobial resistance as a public-health issue.
How our questions for Veterinarian Licensure Examination spread across the units of General Veterinary Microbiology. Difficulty: 21 easy, 20 medium, 1 hard.
| General mycology | 7 | |
| Culture methods | 5 | |
| Bacterial identification | 5 | |
| Disinfection | 5 | |
| Bacterial structure | 4 | |
| Bacterial growth | 4 | |
| Bacterial genetics | 4 | |
| Bacterial classification | 3 | |
| Sterilisation | 3 | |
| Mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance | 2 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Taxonomy, as used in bacteriology, comprises:
C. Classification, nomenclature and identification
Taxonomy is the science of arranging organisms into groups (classification), naming them (nomenclature) and assigning an unknown isolate to a named group (identification). The other lists are laboratory or genetic processes.
Further reading: Quinn et al., Veterinary Microbiology and Microbial Disease, 2nd ed.
In the name 'Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium', the word Typhimurium denotes:
B. A serovar, defined by its O and H antigens
The genus Salmonella has two species, S. enterica and S. bongori. Most animal and human pathogens belong to S. enterica subsp. enterica and are divided into serovars. A serovar name is written with a capital letter and is not italicised, which is why 'Salmonella typhimurium' as a species name is outdated.
Further reading: Quinn et al., Veterinary Microbiology and Microbial Disease, 2nd ed.
The correct order of the phases of a bacterial growth curve in a closed (batch) culture is:
B. Lag, exponential, stationary, death
Inoculated cells first adapt (lag), then divide at a constant rate (exponential), then growth equals death as nutrients run out and wastes build up (stationary), and finally viable numbers fall (death or decline).
Further reading: Quinn et al., Veterinary Microbiology and Microbial Disease, 2nd ed.
On MacConkey agar, lactose-fermenting colonies such as Escherichia coli appear pink to red because:
C. Acid from lactose fermentation turns the neutral red indicator red
MacConkey agar is selective (bile salts and crystal violet inhibit most Gram-positive bacteria) and differential (lactose with neutral red). Fermenters lower the pH and turn pink-red; non-fermenters such as Salmonella and Proteus stay pale.
Further reading: Quinn et al., Veterinary Microbiology and Microbial Disease, 2nd ed.
When collecting quarter milk samples for mastitis culture, the recommended order is to:
B. Disinfect teat ends from the far teats, then sample starting with the near teats
Scrubbing far teats first and sampling near teats first avoids reaching across, and contaminating, teats already cleaned. Foremilk is discarded, not sampled, and teat ends are scrubbed with 70% alcohol until the swab is clean.
Further reading: Quinn et al., Veterinary Microbiology and Microbial Disease, 2nd ed.
The uptake of free (naked) DNA from the environment by a competent bacterial cell is called:
D. Transformation
Transformation = free DNA; transduction = DNA carried by a bacteriophage; conjugation = transfer through direct cell contact, usually via a sex pilus. Griffith's experiment with pneumococci first demonstrated transformation.
Further reading: Quinn et al., Veterinary Microbiology and Microbial Disease, 2nd ed.
Ethylene oxide is used to sterilise heat-sensitive instruments such as some plastic endoscopes. Its main practical drawback is that:
B. It is toxic and carcinogenic, so items need a long aeration period to remove residues
Ethylene oxide is an alkylating agent that kills spores at low temperature (about 37-63 degrees C) and penetrates packaging, but it is flammable, toxic and carcinogenic. Items must be aerated before use.
Further reading: Rutala, Weber and HICPAC, CDC Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities
Ethyl alcohol is a more effective disinfectant at about 70% than at 100% because:
B. Water is needed for protein denaturation and slows evaporation, prolonging contact time
Alcohols act by denaturing proteins and dissolving lipids, which proceeds poorly without water. Neither concentration is sporicidal, so alcohol is not a sterilant.
Further reading: Quinn et al., Veterinary Microbiology and Microbial Disease, 2nd ed.
Beta-lactam antibiotics such as penicillins and cephalosporins act by:
D. Binding penicillin-binding proteins and blocking peptidoglycan cross-linking
Penicillin-binding proteins are the transpeptidases that cross-link peptidoglycan. The 30S target belongs to aminoglycosides and tetracyclines, DNA gyrase to fluoroquinolones, and dihydrofolate reductase to trimethoprim.
Further reading: CLSI VET01/VET01S; WOAH Terrestrial Manual ch. 2.1.1; Giguere et al., Antimicrobial Therapy in Veterinary Medicine, 5th ed.
Brooder pneumonia, with yellowish nodules in the lungs and air sacs of young chicks, is caused mainly by:
D. Aspergillus fumigatus
Chicks inhale large numbers of A. fumigatus conidia from mouldy litter or contaminated hatcheries. Candida albicans causes crop mycosis ('thrush'), and Microsporum gallinae (now Lophophyton gallinae) causes favus of the comb.
Further reading: Quinn et al., Veterinary Microbiology and Microbial Disease, 2nd ed.
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