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100+ Free ABSA CBSP Practice Questions
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Sample ABSA CBSP Practice Questions
Try these sample questions to test your ABSA CBSP exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.
1Under the NIH/WHO classification system, which Risk Group includes agents that are not associated with disease in healthy adult humans?
A.Risk Group 1
B.Risk Group 2
C.Risk Group 3
D.Risk Group 4
Explanation: Risk Group 1 (RG1) agents are not associated with disease in healthy adult humans, representing the lowest hazard tier. Examples include non-pathogenic strains of E. coli K-12 and Bacillus subtilis. RG1 work is generally performed at BSL-1.
2A biological agent classified as Risk Group 4 is best characterized by which of the following?
A.Causes mild disease that is readily treatable
B.Likely to cause serious or lethal disease with no available preventive or therapeutic interventions
C.Not associated with disease in healthy adults
D.Causes disease only in plants, not humans
Explanation: Risk Group 4 (RG4) agents are likely to cause serious or lethal human disease for which preventive or therapeutic interventions are not usually available, and they often pose a high risk of aerosol transmission. Examples include Ebola, Marburg, and Lassa viruses. RG4 work requires BSL-4 maximum containment.
3Which route of exposure is the most common cause of laboratory-acquired infections and the most difficult to control because it is often unrecognized?
A.Ingestion
B.Inhalation of infectious aerosols
C.Percutaneous injection
D.Direct skin contact
Explanation: Inhalation of infectious aerosols is the leading and most insidious route of laboratory-acquired infection because aerosols are invisible, can be generated by routine procedures (pipetting, centrifugation, vortexing), and may go entirely unnoticed. This is why aerosol-generating procedures with RG2+ agents are conducted in a biosafety cabinet.
4In a biological risk assessment, which agent characteristic describes the dose required to cause infection in a host?
A.Virulence
B.Infectious dose
C.Communicability
D.Pathogenicity
Explanation: The infectious dose is the number of organisms required to cause infection in the host; agents with a low infectious dose (e.g., Shigella, Coxiella burnetii) pose greater risk because few organisms can initiate infection. Infectious dose is a key factor weighed during agent hazard assessment.
5According to the BMBL, a comprehensive biological risk assessment should consider both agent hazards and which other major category of hazards?
A.Marketing and budget considerations
B.Procedure (laboratory activity) hazards
C.Building occupancy permits
D.Employee vacation schedules
Explanation: The BMBL risk assessment framework weighs agent hazards (pathogenicity, route of transmission, infectious dose, stability) together with procedure or activity hazards (aerosol generation, sharps use, animal work, concentration and volume). Both must be evaluated to select appropriate biosafety levels and practices.
6Which laboratory procedure is generally considered to have the HIGHEST potential to generate infectious aerosols?
A.Slowly pouring a liquid down the side of a tube
B.Sonication or homogenization of an infectious suspension
C.Reading a culture plate under a microscope
D.Labeling sealed sample tubes
Explanation: Sonication, homogenization, blending, and vigorous mixing impart high energy to liquids and are among the most potent generators of fine infectious aerosols. Such procedures should be performed within a biosafety cabinet, and the BMBL emphasizes containment for these high-energy activities.
7When assigning a biosafety level for a specific protocol, which statement best reflects the relationship between Risk Group and Biosafety Level?
A.Risk Group and Biosafety Level are always identical numbers
B.Risk Group classifies the agent, while Biosafety Level is determined by a risk assessment of the agent AND the planned activities
C.Biosafety Level applies only to animals, Risk Group only to humans
D.Biosafety Level is set solely by the institution's budget
Explanation: Risk Group is an agent-based hazard classification, whereas the Biosafety Level is selected through a risk assessment that also accounts for the procedures, concentration, volume, and host factors. A risk assessment may justify raising containment above the agent's nominal risk group when a procedure greatly increases aerosol or exposure risk.
8Coxiella burnetii, the agent of Q fever, is notable in biosafety risk assessment primarily because it has a very:
A.High infectious dose requiring millions of organisms
B.Low infectious dose, with as few as one to ten organisms capable of causing infection
C.Short environmental survival time
D.Inability to be transmitted by aerosol
Explanation: Coxiella burnetii has an extremely low infectious dose (estimated as low as a single organism) and is highly stable in the environment, making it a significant aerosol hazard. These properties drive its handling at higher containment and its inclusion among select agents.
9Which host factor would MOST increase an individual worker's susceptibility to laboratory-acquired infection?
A.Being a young, healthy adult
B.Immunosuppression (e.g., from medication or pregnancy-related changes)
C.Having completed biosafety training
D.Wearing appropriate PPE
Explanation: Immunocompromised status, whether from medications, underlying disease, or certain physiological states, increases susceptibility to infection and the severity of disease. Occupational health programs assess such host factors to provide medical guidance and, where appropriate, restrict exposures.
10Which of the following is an example of a Risk Group 2 agent?
A.Bacillus subtilis
B.Staphylococcus aureus
C.Ebola virus
D.Bacillus anthracis (inhalation form work)
Explanation: Staphylococcus aureus is a classic Risk Group 2 organism: it causes human disease that is rarely serious in healthy adults and for which interventions are usually available. Most RG2 work is performed at BSL-2 with biosafety cabinets for aerosol-generating steps.
About the ABSA CBSP Practice Questions
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