Take Our FDA Consumer Quiz

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Do you know how to protect your family from summer safety hazards? How's your knowledge of "mad cow disease"? What are the hazards of using "andro," a dietary supplement that's been popular with athletes? To find out how much you know about these and other health-related topics, take our quiz.

Hint: The answers to all these questions can be found in the May-June 2004 issue of FDA Consumer.

1. About how many cases of Lyme disease were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2002?

a. 2,000

b. 8,000

c. 16,000

d. 24,000

2. Poison ivy usually has a cluster of how many leaflets?

a. 2

b. 3

c. 4

d. 5

3. How often should adults have a tetanus booster shot?

a. every 2 years

b. every 4 years

c. every 6 years

d. every 10 years

e. every 12 years

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4. Mad cow disease is thought to spread in cows by:

a. cow-to-cow contact in pastures

b. feeding cows proteins found in remnants of cattle

c. infected mother cows licking their baby calves

d. one infected cow sneezing on other cows

5. What is the human form of mad cow disease called?

a. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

b. Mutant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

c. Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

d. all of the above

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6. Do scientists know what causes mad cow disease?

a. yes, it's definitely been traced to a deadly virus

b. no, but it's thought to be an inherited disease

c. no one knows for certain, but the leading theory is that an abnormal form of a protein called a prion is responsible

d. yes, it arises sporadically in bored cows that are confined in small stalls

7. Evidence of mad cow disease has been found in which of the following pets?

a. dogs

b. cats

c. horses

d. birds

e. reptiles

8. What is not a potential, long-term consequence of using products containing androstenedione, commonly called "andro"?

a. decreased testicle size, impotence, and breast enlargement in men

b. male pattern baldness, deepening of the voice, and increased facial hair in women

c. puberty beginning earlier and bone growth stopping prematurely in children

d. decrease in breast and endometrial cancer risk in women

9. Which of the following fish don't contain traces of methylmercury?

a. shark

b. catfish

c. tilefish

d. none of the above; nearly all fish contain traces of methylmercury

10. How many tons of cow byproducts were destroyed to ensure that none of the parts of the mad cow found in Washington state in December 2003 got into the human or animal food supply?

a. about 2 tons

b. about 500 tons

c. about 2,000 tons

d. about 8,000 tons

Your Score is:

Scoring

9 to 10 points: Excellent! Go to the head of the class.
6 to 8 points: Not too bad. You can skip cleaning the chalkboard erasers today.
5 points and below: Oops! Stay after school and reread the appropriate chapters.

Go to the Answers Page

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