CHAPTER 5: THE INFECTIOUS PROCESS AND
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Answers to Review Questions
ANSWERS TO CHAPTER REVIEW
A. By Yourself
1. Have the students prepare an oral or written sentence defining each of the Terms to Know
2. a. Airborne transmission: illness-producing pathogens are carried on droplets of moisture
that are expelled from the nose or mouth during coughs, sneezes, and conversation.
Examples of how an illness can be transmitted via the airborne route include coughing,
3. By 30 months of age, a child should have received the following immunizations: four DTaP
(diphtheria, tetanus, & pertusis/whooping cough), three IPV (polio), one MMR (measles,
5. Communicable illnesses may be somewhat contagious near the end of the incubation stage,
B. As a Group
1. The three factors necessary for an illness to be communicable include: a). a susceptible host,
2. Early signs of communicable illness may include unusually flushed or pale skin color, red or
3. Effective practices for controlling the spread of communicable illness include:
a. Airborne: Identification and exclusion of sick children; frequent hand washing; teaching
4. The implementation of universal infection control precautions involves:
a. using appropriate barrier protection whenever coming in contact with body fluids; ex.,
wearing disposable gloves when caring for children’s injuries; wearing protective eye
5. The main consideration is whether the program can provide a quiet area away from other
children that is supervised while teachers continue to provide quality care for the remaining
ANSWERS TO CASE STUDY
1. A runny nose and cough can be symptoms of an allergy. However, if Laura has a fever, nasal
2. If Laura has a communicable illness, it will be important to separate her from the other
3. Be sure that Laura’s mother has a copy of the program’s policies. Remind her that children
may not attend when they are ill. If her mother continues to disregard program policy, you
may want to find out why. Perhaps she needs assistance in locating alternative care
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Why do young children typically experience communicable illnesses more frequently than
older children?
2. When a classroom of children is exposed to a child with a contagious illness, why don’t all of
the children become ill?
3. List and describe the four stages of a communicable illness.
4. How does the removal of a sick child interrupt the spread of infection? What effects do
moderate room temperatures and fresh air have on the transmission of communicable illness?
5. Why is it important to include families in educational programs designed to reduce
communicable illness?
6. What steps must teachers take to protect themselves from liability when administering
medications to children in a group setting?
7. What cleaning procedures should be used to treat surfaces that have been contaminated with:
ADDITIONAL APPLICATION ACTIVITIES
The following exercises are designed for instructors to assign as individual or group projects.
1. Newly-emerging pathogen strains, such as H7N9 (variation of bird flu), SARS, and H1N1
(swine flu), have raised concerns about the potential for large-scale epidemic outbreaks. Where
can teachers and program administrators locate reliable information about these diseases? What
basic measures can be set in motion to protect school populations in the event of an epidemic?
2. Assume you are a working, single parent with a two-year-old. Your child care provider has an
3. Conduct an experiment to determine which hand cleansing method is most effective in
limiting pathogen transmission. Assemble 5 agar culture plates, sterile cotton applicators/swabs,
bar soap, liquid hand soap, alcohol hand sanitizer, and antibacterial hand wipes. Blow your nose
or cough into your hand, swab your hand with a sterile applicator, and rub across the first culture