What is a pandemic?

Which factor is most important in determining whether a disease outbreak is classified as a pandemic?

• The number of deaths caused by the disease

• The presence of a vaccine for the disease

• The geographical spread of the disease across multiple countries or continents

• The severity of symptoms in affected individuals

Which of the following best describes the role of an epidemiologist?

• Treating individual patients in hospitals

• Investigating disease outbreaks and patterns to prevent future spread

• Creating vaccines and medical treatments in laboratories

• Conducting surgeries on patients with infectious diseases

What is the primary purpose of public health efforts during an emerging pandemic?

• Ensuring hospitals are profitable

• Protecting individual patients from diseases

• Implementing measures to slow or stop the spread of disease in populations

• Conducting research on diseases for academic purposes

A novel virus has been detected in a small city. What is the most likely reason public health officials are concerned about it?

• It has never been seen before and humans may have no immunity to it

• It only affects animals, not humans

• It has a low transmission rate and is unlikely to spread

• It is a common strain of an existing virus

If a new disease starts in one country and spreads rapidly to multiple countries on different continents, it is classified as:

• An outbreak

• An endemic

• An epidemic

• A pandemic

Why might a disease be considered an outbreak in one location but endemic in another?

• The disease may have a different impact on different populations

• Some locations have stronger immune systems

• Some countries choose different definitions of outbreaks

• The disease is only dangerous in warm climates

Why did epidemiologists use a timeline to track the spread of NERD in the module activity?

• To predict how many people will be infected in the future

• To identify patterns of transmission and determine when the disease became a pandemic

• To keep the public from panicking about the disease

• To compare NERD to previous pandemics and prove it was less severe

What is one key reason that declaring a pandemic too early can be problematic?

• It can cause unnecessary panic and use up critical resources

• It prevents vaccines from being developed

• It increases the likelihood of disease spreading faster

• It reduces public health efforts

Which of the following is a key difference between an epidemic and a pandemic?

• An epidemic spreads more quickly than a pandemic

• An epidemic is limited to one region or country, while a pandemic spreads across multiple continents

• An epidemic is always deadlier than a pandemic

• An epidemic is caused by bacteria, while a pandemic is caused by a virus

Based on the module, which of the following would NOT be considered a public health action during a pandemic?

• Contact tracing infected individuals

• Developing and distributing vaccines

• Enforcing travel restrictions

• Treating individual patients in a hospital