Some Populations More Than Others Are Likely to Be Affected

question 75

Multiple Choice

Some populations more than others are likely to be affected by a given pathogen. Many population characteristics influence the occurrence of disease. Which of the following MOST likely explains why some students at the picnic did not get ill?

• A) Herd immunity, that protects non-immune people from an infectious agent-the agent cannot spread in a population because most potential hosts are immune. Most students were probably immune to the foodborne pathogen.
• B) Age, because the immune system starts to weaken after childhood, and consequently people are vulnerable to certain diseases when they reach adulthood. The younger students in the group remained healthy.
• C) Behavioral practices, that significantly influence the rate and type of disease transmission; in this case the vegetarians and vegans remained healthy, suggesting that not eating meat protected them from the pathogen.
• D) Gender, because females are always more likely than males to acquire gastrointestinal diseases due to differences in their gut normal microbiota populations. The students who got ill were all female.
• E) None of these factors explain the outcome of the picnic.

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