Questions: How Diseases Spread

Question 1

During flu season, which action is MOST effective at preventing the spread of influenza?

• A. Wearing warm clothing when going outside
• B. Washing hands frequently, covering coughs, and getting vaccinated
• C. Eating more vitamin C
• D. Avoiding all contact with animals

Answer: (B)

Influenza spreads primarily through respiratory droplets (coughing, sneezing) and contact with contaminated surfaces. Hand washing removes viruses from hands before they can enter your body through your eyes, nose, or mouth. Covering coughs prevents droplets from reaching other people. Vaccination trains your immune system to fight the specific flu strains. Warm clothing has no effect on viral transmission, and flu is a human-to-human disease, not an animal-borne one.

Question 2

You can catch a cold by going outside with wet hair in cold weather.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

Colds are caused by viruses (most commonly rhinoviruses), not by cold temperatures or wet hair. You catch a cold by being exposed to the virus, usually through respiratory droplets or contaminated surfaces. Cold weather does correlate with more colds, but not because cold itself causes illness -- rather, people spend more time indoors in close proximity during winter, increasing the chance of person-to-person viral transmission.

Question 3

A classmate has a stomach bug. What specific steps would you take to avoid catching it, and why would those steps work?

Model answer: Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water, especially after using the bathroom and before eating. Avoid sharing food, drinks, or utensils with the sick person. Disinfect surfaces they may have touched (door handles, faucets). These steps work because stomach bugs typically spread through the fecal-oral route -- the virus is shed in stool and vomit, transferred to hands and surfaces, and enters a new host through the mouth.

This question connects transmission route knowledge to practical prevention. Stomach bugs (often caused by norovirus) spread through indirect contact -- the virus can survive on surfaces for days and requires only a tiny amount to cause infection. Handwashing is the single most effective countermeasure because it removes the virus from hands before it can reach the mouth. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are less effective against norovirus than soap and water.