NAVLE Veterinary Public Health 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which Salmonella serotype is most commonly associated with poultry products and represents the leading cause of salmonellosis in the US?
- Salmonella Typhi
- Salmonella Enteritidis (Correct answer)
- Salmonella Dublin
- Salmonella Choleraesuis
Correct answer: Salmonella Enteritidis
Salmonella Enteritidis is the most common serotype linked to poultry and eggs and is a major cause of human foodborne illness in the US.
Question 2: A veterinarian suspects a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial flock. The first regulatory notification must be made to:
- Local law enforcement
- State veterinarian or USDA APHIS (Correct answer)
- FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine
- CDC influenza division
Correct answer: State veterinarian or USDA APHIS
HPAI is a federally reportable disease; the state veterinarian and USDA APHIS must be notified immediately upon suspicion.
Question 3: The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system was originally developed to ensure food safety for which population?
- Military personnel in field operations
- NASA astronauts (Correct answer)
- Hospitalized immunocompromised patients
- Commercial airline passengers
Correct answer: NASA astronauts
HACCP was originally developed by NASA and Pillsbury in the 1960s to ensure food safety for astronauts in space missions.
Question 4: Which parameter is most commonly monitored as a critical control point (CCP) during pasteurization of milk?
- pH of the final product
- Time and temperature of heat treatment (Correct answer)
- Fat content percentage
- Coliform count before processing
Correct answer: Time and temperature of heat treatment
Time and temperature are the critical control point parameters for pasteurization, as they determine whether pathogens are eliminated.
Question 5: Toxoplasma gondii infection in pregnant women is most commonly acquired in the US through:
- Direct contact with infected cats
- Consumption of undercooked meat containing tissue cysts (Correct answer)
- Inhalation of aerosolized oocysts
- Contaminated drinking water
Correct answer: Consumption of undercooked meat containing tissue cysts
In the US, most human T. gondii infections result from consuming undercooked meat containing bradyzoite tissue cysts.
Question 6: Which federal agency is responsible for the inspection of meat and poultry products under the Federal Meat Inspection Act?
- FDA
- USDA FSIS (Correct answer)
- USDA APHIS
- CDC
Correct answer: USDA FSIS
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is mandated to inspect meat, poultry, and egg products under federal law.
Question 7: A community outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 is traced to a petting zoo. The primary mode of transmission in this setting is:
- Airborne transmission from animal dander
- Fecal-oral transmission through direct animal contact (Correct answer)
- Vectorborne transmission via insects in the zoo
- Waterborne transmission from decorative ponds
Correct answer: Fecal-oral transmission through direct animal contact
E. coli O157:H7 is shed in the feces of ruminants and transmitted to humans via fecal-oral contact in petting zoo settings.
NAVLE Veterinary Public Health 3
Which Salmonella serotype is most commonly associated with poultry products and represents the leading cause of salmonellosis in the US?