27. Based on Ro, which of the following viruses grows most rapidly?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

First, consider what R0 (the basic reproduction number) represents: on average, how many people a single infectious person will infect in a completely susceptible population. With this in mind, higher R0 generally indicates faster potential spread, assuming other factors (like generation time and contact patterns) are comparable.

Option 1: Mumps — Ro = 5–7. This value suggests moderate transmissibility, but it is lower than the Ro for Measles, so by Ro alone, Mumps would spread more slowly than Measles.

Option 2: Polio — Ro = 5–7. Similar to Mumps, Polio has moderate transmissibility and a lower Ro than Measles, indicating slower potential spread when comparing solely by Ro.

Option 3: Smallpox — Ro = 4–7. While this range overlaps with the others, its upper bound does not exceed Measles’ Ro of 12–18, making it less capable of rapid spread by Ro alone.

Option 4: Measles — Ro = 12–18. This is the highest Ro among the options, implying that, in a fully susceptible population, Measles has the greatest potential to generate secondary cases per infectious individual and thus spreads most rapidly according to Ro alone.

Option 5: Impossible to tell from the R0 number alone. While Ro does not capture generation time or incubation period, it still provides a comparative measure of transmission potential. However, if a student argued that Ro alone cannot determine speed due to other factors, that would be acknowledging a limitation, but the question asks which grows most rapidly based on Ro, not on all possible factors. Therefore, Ro differences remain the primary basis for comparing rapidity of spread in this context.

Overall, when comparing the listed viruses by their Ro values, Measles has the highest Ro, indicating the fastest potential spread by Ro alone. The other options have lower Ro values, suggesting slower spread in the same framing. The statement that it is impossible to tell from Ro alone would be incorrect for ranking by Ro, though it ignores other epidemiologic factors.

BIOMI1100 Prelim 2 PollEv practice questions

27. Based on Ro, which of the following viruses grows most rapidly?

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