On the Way Out Trivia Quiz

Answer: Leprosy

The disease has been known since Biblical times, and is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterum leprae. The bacterium causes muscle weakness, skin sores and nerve damage, and can be very disfiguring. The disease is not particularly contagious, and the old idea of 'leper colonies' to isolate patients has passed into history. Early treatment with antibiotics is effective, although there are still problems in some countries where the stigma of leprosy remains.

Answer: Consumption

The disease, which is caused by bacteria, especially attacks the lungs, and was the cause of nearly 25% of all deaths in Europe in the nineteenth century. The development of antibiotics, particularly streptomycin, led to a dramatic reduction. The introduction of a vaccine, the Bacillus Calmete-Guérin (BCG), in the twentieth century did much to reduce the incidence of the disease.

Unfortunately, strains of the illness which are resistant to the usual range of antibiotics mean that the eradication of the disease remains elusive, although there are several ongoing programmes devoted to this aim. Falling sickness is a name for epilepsy, winter fever was pneumonia and tonsillitis was called quinsy.

Answer: Pregnant women

Rubella, which is also known as German measles, causes only mild symptoms for the majority of people. For pregnant women, though it can be devastating, as the virus can pass through the placenta to the unborn child. The earlier in pregnancy the expectant mother catches the disease, the higher the risk to the foetus, and abortion is often recommended.

The baby can be born with heart defects, eye problems and/or deafness. Major campaigns have led to the vaccine being given as a standard protection to all children, and particularly to girls, which has led to the eradication of the disease in many countries.

Answer: Respiratory system

Diphtheria is caused by bacteria, and the symptoms include fever, sore throat, cough, headache and difficulties in swallowing. The disease causes the lymph nodes in the neck to swell, which can cause severe breathing problems and death. The death rate is normally no more than 10% of those who suffer from the disease, but can be much higher in the very young and old.

The introduction of a vaccine has reduced the incidence of the disease.

Answer: Smallpox

The history of smallpox is believed to date to 10,000 B.C., with evidence of the disease found on the mummy of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses V, who died in 1145 B.C. The creation of a vaccine against smallpox is normally credited to the Englishman, Edward Jenner, in the eighteenth century. Following a worldwide vaccination programme, the disease became the first to be officially declared as eradicated.

Answer: Pertussis

The illness is caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacterium. The characteristic whooping sound is caused by the sufferer struggling to inhale air during coughing fits. A vaccine against the illness is available, usually offered in conjunction with vaccines against diphtheria and tetanus. Worries that the vaccine may be linked to brain damage in children has led to lower rates of vaccination and the return of disease epidemics, which prove that the illness is far from being eradicated. Rubeola is another name for measles and varicella is chicken pox. Roseola is a sudden rash.

Answer: Germany

The original disease was identified by the two German neurologists in the 1920s, when it affected mainly the elderly. It sprang into prominence again following the bovine spongiform encephalopathy epidemic which affected the UK, in particular, in the 1990s.

The disease, commonly referred to as 'mad cow disease', was believed to be transmissible to humans who had eaten contaminated beef products. Since the newly identified illness resembled that described by Creutzfeldt and Jakob, it was described as a variant, abbreviated to vCJD.

It mainly affected younger people, in their teens and twenties, but the feared epidemic has not materialised, although some researchers believe that this may be due to a much longer incubation period than originally expected.

Answer: Jonas Salk

Polio is caused by a virus, and was first identified in 1840 by Jakob Heine. It is passed from person to person particularly by infected water, and epidemics in the western world became commonplace in the summer months. Salk's vaccine was developed at the University of Pittsburgh, but was soon superseded by an oral vaccine created by Albert Sabin.

As a result of the vaccination programmes undertaken, poliomyelitis has been eradicated from much of the world, although parts of Africa and Asia still have epidemics. Pasteur invented a vaccine for rabies and Marquez is credited with the tetanus vaccine. Hilleman came up with several vaccines, including measles, mumps and hepatitis A and B.

Answer: Mumps

The vaccine protects against Measles, Mumps and Rubella. Mumps is also known as epidemic parotitis and normally affects the salivary glands causing painful swelling. Although the disease is not normally life threatening, it can spread to the testicles in men and lead to infertility.

The vaccine was introduced in the 1970s and has led to a considerable reduction in the disease in developed countries.

Answer: Spain

The Spanish flu pandemic affected most parts of the world, including the Arctic, and is estimated to have killed at least fifty million people - possibly even twice as many. It lasted from the beginning of 1918 until the end of 1920, and most of the deaths were in young adults.

A vaccine has been developed to protect against the three most common influenza viruses, which is administered to older people, but the virus has many variations, making it difficult to foresee it being eradicated completely.