AHPC Licensure Examination — Disease Control & Environmental Health

Sample Disease Control & Environmental Health practice questions

Try these 12 questions from different topics. Open "Show answer" to check yourself and read the explanation.

1. Question 1 · Surveillance & Outbreak Response

   Why is a standard surveillance case definition used during an outbreak investigation?

   1. A.To replace all clinical care decisions
   2. B.To guarantee laboratory confirmation for everyone
   3. C.To exclude time, place and person information
   4. D.To classify cases consistently for counting, comparison and action
   Show answer

   Answer: D. To classify cases consistently for counting, comparison and action

   Consistent case definitions make surveillance data comparable and support reliable outbreak decisions.

2. Question 2 · Water, Sanitation & Food Hygiene

   Which approach is central to preventing drinking-water contamination from catchment to consumer?

   1. A.A water safety plan based on systematic risk assessment and control
   2. B.Testing only after a large outbreak
   3. C.Relying on taste as the sole safety measure
   4. D.Removing all operational records
   Show answer

   Answer: A. A water safety plan based on systematic risk assessment and control

   Water safety planning identifies and controls hazards throughout the supply system.

3. Question 3 · Environmental & Occupational Risk Control

   Which action should be considered before relying on respirators for a hazardous airborne exposure?

   1. A.Increase exposure time
   2. B.Eliminate, substitute or engineer the hazard at its source where feasible
   3. C.Remove ventilation
   4. D.Use warning signs as the only control
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   Answer: B. Eliminate, substitute or engineer the hazard at its source where feasible

   Source controls are generally more reliable than measures that depend continuously on individual behaviour.

4. Question 4 · Food Safety & Hygiene

   The "temperature danger zone" in which bacteria grow fastest in food is about:

   1. A.−18 °C to 0 °C
   2. B.60 °C to 100 °C
   3. C.5 °C to 60 °C
   4. D.100 °C to 120 °C
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   Answer: C. 5 °C to 60 °C

   Food should be kept cold (≤5 °C) or hot (≥60–63 °C); time in between allows rapid bacterial growth.

5. Question 5 · Solid, Liquid & Healthcare Waste Management

   In the waste management hierarchy, which option is most preferred?

   1. A.Dispose of waste in a landfill that is properly engineered
   2. B.Burn waste openly in a pit behind the market area
   3. C.Recover energy by incinerating mixed household waste
   4. D.Reduce (prevent waste)
   Show answer

   Answer: D. Reduce (prevent waste)

   The hierarchy runs reduce → reuse → recycle → recover → dispose; preventing waste avoids every downstream cost and risk.

6. Question 6 · Public Health Law & Administration

   Which Ghanaian law consolidates powers on communicable disease control, vaccination, quarantine and environmental sanitation?

   1. A.Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936)
   2. B.Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851)
   3. C.Health Institutions and Facilities Act, 2011 (Act 829)
   4. D.National Health Insurance Act, 2012 (Act 852)
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   Answer: B. Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851)

   Act 851 revised and consolidated public health law, including communicable diseases, vaccination, quarantine, sanitation, tobacco control and food and drugs.

7. Question 7 · Housing, Vector & Pest Control

   Overcrowded, poorly ventilated housing mainly increases the spread of:

   1. A.Waterborne infections such as cholera only
   2. B.Vector-borne infections such as onchocerciasis only
   3. C.Non-infectious conditions such as tooth decay
   4. D.Airborne infections such as tuberculosis and meningitis
   Show answer

   Answer: D. Airborne infections such as tuberculosis and meningitis

   Crowding and poor ventilation raise the concentration of infectious droplets and nuclei that people breathe.

8. Question 8 · Epidemiological Measures

   Prevalence differs from incidence because prevalence measures:

   1. A.All existing cases at a point or period in time
   2. B.Only new cases arising during a period of time
   3. C.Deaths from the disease during one year only
   4. D.The speed at which a disease spreads between people
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   Answer: A. All existing cases at a point or period in time

   Prevalence counts existing cases (old and new); incidence counts only new cases among those at risk.

9. Question 9 · Study Designs & Screening

   Which study design provides the strongest evidence that an intervention causes an outcome?

   1. A.Cross-sectional survey
   2. B.Randomised controlled trial
   3. C.Case series report
   4. D.Ecological comparison
   Show answer

   Answer: B. Randomised controlled trial

   Randomisation balances known and unknown confounders between groups, so differences can be attributed to the intervention.

10. Question 10 · Vaccine-Preventable Diseases & Immunisation

    Under Ghana's routine schedule, which vaccines are given at birth?

    1. A.Pentavalent 1 and PCV 1
    2. B.Measles-rubella and yellow fever
    3. C.BCG and OPV0
    4. D.Rotavirus 1 and IPV
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    Answer: C. BCG and OPV0

    BCG and the birth dose of oral polio (OPV0) are given at birth; pentavalent, OPV, PCV and rotavirus start at 6 weeks.

11. Question 11 · Vector-Borne & Neglected Tropical Diseases

    The main malaria vector in Ghana belongs to the genus:

    1. A.Aedes
    2. B.Anopheles
    3. C.Culex
    4. D.Simulium
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    Answer: B. Anopheles

    Female Anopheles mosquitoes (especially the An. gambiae complex and An. funestus) transmit malaria parasites, mostly biting at night.

12. Question 12 · Zoonoses & Port Health

    After a dog bite, the most important immediate first-aid measure to prevent rabies is:

    1. A.Covering the wound tightly with a bandage and leaving it alone
    2. B.Applying traditional herbs to the wound to draw out the poison and stop bleeding
    3. C.Waiting to see whether the dog becomes ill before acting
    4. D.Washing the wound thoroughly with soap and running water for about 15 minutes
    Show answer

    Answer: D. Washing the wound thoroughly with soap and running water for about 15 minutes

    Prompt washing removes much of the virus; it should be followed by assessment for post-exposure vaccination (and immunoglobulin when indicated).