History's Worst Pandemics: Trivia Quiz!
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- 1.The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic is generally believed to have originated in which country?
- A.
Spain
- B.
France
- C.
The USA
- 2.And why was Spanish flu so-called?
- A.
Because the Spanish press were the first to report the outbreak
- B.
Because the first infections occurred in Spain
- C.
Because the first known fatality was a Spaniard
- 3.In two successive waves, the 1918 pandemic infected how many?
- A.
Ten million
- B.
One hundred million
- C.
Five hundred million
- 4.What was probably a smallpox outbreak that killed at least one million Romans in the middle of the 3rd century AD? How was it known at the time?
- A.
Caesar’s Revenge, caused by the ghost of Julius Caesar
- B.
The Red Death, after the fever it caused
- C.
The Plague of Cyprian, after the Christian bishop who first described it
- 5.What recurring pandemic is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis?
- A.
Ebola
- B.
Influenza (flu)
- C.
Plague
- 6.The most well-known of all plagues, the Black Death, occurred in the middle of which century?
- A.
The 12th century
- B.
The 13th century
- C.
The 14th century
- 7.What new types of viruses were first discovered in 1931 in the USA?
- A.
Rhinoviruses
- B.
Coronaviruses
- C.
Computer viruses
- 8.Who is credited with developing the world’s first vaccine in 1796?
- A.
Edward Jenner, working with cowpox and smallpox
- B.
Louis Pasteur, working with anthrax and chicken cholera
- C.
Maurice Hilleman, working with measles, mumps and many others
- 9.The first recorded pandemic took place in Babylon in 1200 BC. Symptoms included cough, fever, shaking, and extreme fatigue. What was the most likely disease?
- A.
Influenza
- B.
Measles
- C.
Typhoid
- 10.Which disease was officially declared to be extinct in 1980, having killed 500 million people between 1877 and 1977?
- A.
Smallpox
- B.
Typhoid
- C.
Measles
- 11.Which disease was declared to be a pandemic in 1981, and to date has killed at least 32 million people?
- A.
'Mad Cow' disease
- B.
Dengue Fever
- C.
HIV/AIDS
- 12.Scientifically speaking, viruses are said to be 'not alive’ – is this true?
- A.
Yes, because they cannot reproduce without a host cell
- B.
No, because they are capable of evolving and mutating
- C.
Both – they are ‘on the edge of life’, because they are neither fully one nor the other
- 13.The word ‘quarantine’ comes from ‘quarentena’, which means what?
- A.
Restricted movement
- B.
Solitary confinement
- C.
Forty days and nights in isolation
- 14.Which disease, spread by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, was once known as ‘Roman fever’ because of its endemic presence in the Roman Empire?
- A.
Plague
- B.
Malaria
- C.
Influenza
- 15.In 1793, an epidemic raged through Philadelphia killing 10% of the population. It particularly attacked the kidneys and liver. What was the disease?
- A.
Yellow Fever
- B.
Dengue Fever
- C.
Saturday Night Fever
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