USMLE STEP2 Exam
Step2 (Page 25 )

Updated On: 26-Jan-2026

For each of the following scenarios, select the gas exposure responsible for the signs and symptoms. A patient working with an electric arc noted a pungent odor, and now has signs of asthma or early pulmonary edema.

  1. carbon monoxide
  2. methane
  3. hydrogen sulfide
  4. ozone
  5. sulfur dioxide

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

Ozone is a colorless, pungent gas occurring naturally in the stratosphere, which can be produced by electric arcs. Ozone is generated by electrical storms and UV light and electric arcs and some forms of fuel combustion. In the stratosphere, it is protective by blocking solar radiation. At 10 ppm, it can cause pulmonary edema and tracheal pain and is believed to cause asthma. Based on animal tests and observations of gases trapped during inversions, an action level of 10 ppm has been set for work-place exposure.



For each of the diseases listed, select the arthropod vector responsible for its transmission.

Epidemic typhus

  1. aegypti
  2. Anopheles species
  3. Pediculus humanus corporis
  4. Dermacentor andersoni
  5. Sarcoptes scabiei

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

Epidemic typhus (classical typhus fever, or louse-borne typhus) has disappeared from most areas of the world but might reappear in conditions of famine, war, or other disasters. There are small areas where it is endemic. The responsible organism, a rickettsia, is conveyed from case to case by the human body louse,
F. humanus corporis. Malaria, in its various forms (Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium malariae), is spread from human to human by females of the various Anopheles group of mosquitoes. Dengue fever has a worldwide distribution in tropical and subtropical areas. In addition to producing the classical fever with severe myalgia (breakbone fever), it can also cause a hemorrhagic fever. The causative agent, a group B arbovirus with four distinct serogroups, is virus- conveyed from case to case by the A aegypti mosquito. Colorado tick fever occurs mainly in mountainous areas of the United States within the range of its vector, D. andersoni. The highest incidence is in May and June. Several hundred cases are recorded annually, but it is likely that the actual incidence is much higher.
Avoidance of tick bites is the principal control measure. Yellow fever, the prototypical viral hemorrhagic fever, is African in origin but has spread to and remains endemic in equatorial regions of Central and South America. The vector, A. aegypti, has also spread worldwide, but surprisingly, cases have not been reported in India and Southeast Asia. The illness varies in severity from a mild, nonspecific fever to a more severe condition with hemorrhagic, hepatic, and renal manifestations.



For each of the diseases listed, select the arthropod vector responsible for its transmission.
Malaria

  1. aegypti
  2. Anopheles species
  3. Pediculus humanus corporis
  4. Dermacentor andersoni
  5. Sarcoptes scabiei

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

Epidemic typhus (classical typhus fever, or louse-borne typhus) has disappeared from most areas of the world but might reappear in conditions of famine, war, or other disasters. There are small areas where it is endemic. The responsible organism, a rickettsia, is conveyed from case to case by the human body louse,
F. humanus corporis. Malaria, in its various forms (Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium malariae), is spread from human to human by females of the various Anopheles group of mosquitoes. Dengue fever has a worldwide distribution in tropical and subtropical areas. In addition to producing the classical fever with severe myalgia (breakbone fever), it can also cause a hemorrhagic fever. The causative agent, a group B arbovirus with four distinct serogroups, is virus- conveyed from case to case by the A aegypti mosquito. Colorado tick fever occurs mainly in mountainous areas of the United States within the range of its vector, D. andersoni. The highest incidence is in May and June. Several hundred cases are recorded annually, but it is likely that the actual incidence is much higher.
Avoidance of tick bites is the principal control measure. Yellow fever, the prototypical viral hemorrhagic fever, is African in origin but has spread to and remains endemic in equatorial regions of Central and South America. The vector, A. aegypti, has also spread worldwide, but surprisingly, cases have not been reported in India and Southeast Asia. The illness varies in severity from a mild, nonspecific fever to a more severe condition with hemorrhagic, hepatic, and renal manifestations.



For each of the diseases listed, select the arthropod vector responsible for its transmission.

Dengue fever

  1. aegypti
  2. Anopheles species
  3. Pediculus humanus corporis
  4. Dermacentor andersoni
  5. Sarcoptes scabiei

Answer(s): A

Explanation:

Epidemic typhus (classical typhus fever, or louse-borne typhus) has disappeared from most areas of the world but might reappear in conditions of famine, war, or other disasters. There are small areas where it is endemic. The responsible organism, a rickettsia, is conveyed from case to case by the human body louse,
F. humanus corporis. Malaria, in its various forms (Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium malariae), is spread from human to human by females of the various Anopheles group of mosquitoes. Dengue fever has a worldwide distribution in tropical and subtropical areas. In addition to producing the classical fever with severe myalgia (breakbone fever), it can also cause a hemorrhagic fever. The causative agent, a group B arbovirus with four distinct serogroups, is virus- conveyed from case to case by the A aegypti mosquito. Colorado tick fever occurs mainly in mountainous areas of the United States within the range of its vector, D. andersoni. The highest incidence is in May and June. Several hundred cases are recorded annually, but it is likely that the actual incidence is much higher.
Avoidance of tick bites is the principal control measure. Yellow fever, the prototypical viral hemorrhagic fever, is African in origin but has spread to and remains endemic in equatorial regions of Central and South America. The vector, A. aegypti, has also spread worldwide, but surprisingly, cases have not been reported in India and Southeast Asia. The illness varies in severity from a mild, nonspecific fever to a more severe condition with hemorrhagic, hepatic, and renal manifestations.



For each of the diseases listed, select the arthropod vector responsible for its transmission.

Colorado tick fever

  1. aegypti
  2. Anopheles species
  3. Pediculus humanus corporis
  4. Dermacentor andersoni
  5. Sarcoptes scabiei

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

Epidemic typhus (classical typhus fever, or louse-borne typhus) has disappeared from most areas of the world but might reappear in conditions of famine, war, or other disasters. There are small areas where it is endemic. The responsible organism, a rickettsia, is conveyed from case to case by the human body louse,
F. humanus corporis. Malaria, in its various forms (Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium malariae), is spread from human to human by females of the various Anopheles group of mosquitoes. Dengue fever has a worldwide distribution in tropical and subtropical areas. In addition to producing the classical fever with severe myalgia (breakbone fever), it can also cause a hemorrhagic fever. The causative agent, a group B arbovirus with four distinct serogroups, is virus- conveyed from case to case by the A aegypti mosquito. Colorado tick fever occurs mainly in mountainous areas of the United States within the range of its vector, D. andersoni. The highest incidence is in May and June. Several hundred cases are recorded annually, but it is likely that the actual incidence is much higher.
Avoidance of tick bites is the principal control measure. Yellow fever, the prototypical viral hemorrhagic fever, is African in origin but has spread to and remains endemic in equatorial regions of Central and South America. The vector, A. aegypti, has also spread worldwide, but surprisingly, cases have not been reported in India and Southeast Asia. The illness varies in severity from a mild, nonspecific fever to a more severe condition with hemorrhagic, hepatic, and renal manifestations.



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