Practice Test Geeks(APHA) American Public Health Association Immunization Certification Practice Test
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Vaccine-Preventable Diseases & Immunology Flashcards

7 cards from real APHA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Vaccine-Preventable Diseases & Immunology flashcards as text

  1. Which type of immunity is conferred when a vaccinated individual protects unvaccinated members of a community by reducing pathogen circulation?

    Answer: Herd immunity

    Herd immunity (community immunity) occurs when a sufficient proportion of a population is immune, reducing transmission and protecting those who cannot be vaccinated.

  2. A child receives antibodies through breast milk that protect against rotavirus. This is an example of which type of immunity?

    Answer: Passive natural immunity

    Passive natural immunity occurs when antibodies are transferred naturally from mother to child via breast milk or placenta, without the recipient mounting their own immune response.

  3. Pertussis (whooping cough) is caused by which organism?

    Answer: Bordetella pertussis

    Bordetella pertussis is the gram-negative bacterium responsible for pertussis, characterized by severe paroxysmal coughing fits followed by an inspiratory whoop.

  4. Which vaccine component is responsible for stimulating an immune response without causing disease?

    Answer: Antigen

    The antigen is the component of a vaccine that the immune system recognizes and responds to, generating memory cells and antibodies without causing infection.

  5. Mumps primarily targets which organ system, potentially causing a serious complication in post-pubertal males?

    Answer: Salivary glands and potentially testes causing orchitis

    Mumps classically causes parotitis (salivary gland swelling) and can cause orchitis in post-pubertal males, which may rarely lead to infertility.

  6. Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) can reactivate later in life to cause which condition?

    Answer: Herpes zoster (shingles)

    After primary varicella (chickenpox) infection, VZV remains latent in dorsal root ganglia and can reactivate as herpes zoster (shingles), typically in older or immunocompromised individuals.

  7. What is the primary mechanism by which inactivated vaccines stimulate immunity?

    Answer: They present killed or inactivated pathogens to trigger antibody production without infection

    Inactivated vaccines contain killed pathogens or their components; the immune system recognizes the antigens and generates antibodies and memory cells without risk of disease from the vaccine itself.