Free DHA Medical Microbiology mock test
12 original exam-style questions from our Medical Microbiology bank, timed at the exam’s own pace, scored against the 65% DHA pass mark. They span 8 of the 9 blueprint domains, so you will see exactly where you are weakest - free, no sign-up.
Sit 12 original exam-style questions at real exam pace
These are 12 original questions taken from our Medical Microbiology bank, spread across 8 of the 9 domains of the published blueprint. You get 72 seconds per question, which is exactly the pace of the real MIC5251 exam (14 minutes for 12). At the end you will see which domains you are weakest in, and the full worked reasoning for every question.
- 12
- questions
- 14:24
- time limit
- 65%
- DHA pass mark
A short diagnostic cannot predict whether you will pass - only the real exam does that. It will show you, honestly, where you currently stand.
What the real Medical Microbiology licensing exam looks like
Candidates for a Medical Microbiology licence in the UAE sit a computer-based multiple-choice examination - DHA exam code MIC5251, delivered through Prometric for DHA, MOHAP and SHA, and through Pearson VUE for DOH Abu Dhabi. The DHA pass mark is 65% (DHA CBT Guideline, Sep 2026); other authorities set their own, so confirm yours before booking. The result is reported to you as pass or fail only - your score is never released.
Pass marks at a glance: DHA exam codes and pass marks for all written exams in one sourced table.
The paper is built to a published blueprint, which is why a domain-by-domain diagnostic is more useful than a raw percentage. Your questions above were drawn from across Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing and Resistance, Biosafety, Quality Management and Ethics, Clinical Bacteriology, Infection Prevention, Control and Epidemiology and 4 more - the same areas the real paper weights.
Before you can book the exam at all you need Dataflow primary source verification of your degree, licence and experience, which typically runs several weeks. Candidates routinely underestimate this and end up sitting the exam sooner after study than they planned. Check where you stand with our free eligibility checker or confirm whether your title even requires an exam using the Prometric exam checker.
You get three attempts in total across all UAE authorities - not three each - under the Unified Professional Qualification Requirements. At roughly AED 1,030 per attempt, plus the licensing delay each failure adds to your visa and start date, the cost of going in underprepared is not really the exam fee.
What is on the Medical Microbiology exam: the full blueprint
The published blueprint splits into 9 domains and 63 testable sub-topics. The diagnostic above samples across them, which is why its breakdown maps onto the structure the real paper is built from.
- Laboratory Methods and Specimen Management~12%7 topics
- Clinical Bacteriology~20%9 topics
- Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing and Resistance~15%8 topics
- Mycobacteriology~7%6 topics
- Medical Mycology~8%6 topics
- Parasitology~8%6 topics
- Virology and Molecular Diagnostics~12%8 topics
- Infection Prevention, Control and Epidemiology~10%7 topics
- Biosafety, Quality Management and Ethics~8%6 topics
- Questions
- 150 multiple-choice (DHA MIC5251)
- Duration
- 3 hours, including registration
- DHA pass mark
- 65% - reported as pass or fail only
Figures for the DHA exam, from the DHA CBT Guideline, Sep 2026. DOH, MOHAP, SCFHS, QCHP, NHRA and OMSB set their own length, timing and pass mark. See the DHA exam guide and pass marks for every DHA exam.
A worked Medical Microbiology exam question
Every question in the diagnostic and in the paid bank is written to this standard: a clinical stem, four plausible options and the reasoning for the answer, with its source.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing and Resistance
A S. aureus isolate is erythromycin resistant and clindamycin susceptible. A disk approximation test shows flattening of the clindamycin zone next to the erythromycin disk. How should clindamycin be reported?
- ASusceptible
- BResistantCorrect
- CSusceptible, increased exposure
- DNot reportable
Why: A positive D-test shows inducible MLSB resistance, so clindamycin should be reported as resistant because resistance can emerge during therapy. Reporting it as susceptible risks clinical failure.
Source: CLSI M100 Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing
Medical Microbiology sample questions with answers
4 more original exam-style Medical Microbiology questions, worked in full. They are not real or recalled exam questions, and none of them is in the diagnostic above, so sit that first if you have not.
Question 1 · Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing and Resistance
A Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate is tested with ceftazidime and ceftazidime-clavulanate disks. Which result confirms ESBL production by the CLSI method?
- AZone decrease of 5 mm or more with clavulanate
- BZone increase of 2 mm or more with clavulanate
- CZone increase of 5 mm or more with clavulanate
- DIdentical zones with and without clavulanate
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Zone increase of 5 mm or more with clavulanate
An increase of at least 5 mm in the zone diameter with clavulanate compared with the agent alone confirms ESBL production. Unchanged zones suggest another mechanism such as AmpC, which is not inhibited by clavulanate.
Reference: CLSI M100 Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing
Question 2 · Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing and Resistance
A laboratory using EUCAST breakpoints reports a Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolate as I to piperacillin-tazobactam. What does this category mean for the prescriber?
- AEffective if dosing gives increased exposure
- BThe result is uncertain and should be ignored
- CThe drug should only be used in combination
- DThe isolate is resistant at standard dosing and high dosing
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Effective if dosing gives increased exposure
Since 2019, EUCAST defines I as susceptible, increased exposure: a high likelihood of success if exposure is increased by dosing or concentration at the site. It is not an uncertain or buffer category.
Reference: EUCAST Clinical Breakpoint Tables and Definitions of S, I and R, 2019
Question 3 · Biosafety, Quality Management and Ethics
A blood culture from a farmer with undulant fever grows tiny Gram-negative coccobacilli after 4 days. Which handling practice is most appropriate?
- AWork only in a biological safety cabinet
- BSniff the plate to detect characteristic odour
- CProceed with routine open-bench identification
- DInoculate an automated identification card
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Work only in a biological safety cabinet
Brucella is a leading cause of laboratory-acquired infection, so suspected isolates must be handled in a biological safety cabinet with BSL-3 practices and the laboratory alerted. Sniffing plates and open-bench work create aerosol exposure, and automated systems can misidentify it.
Reference: ASM Sentinel Level Clinical Laboratory Guidelines: Brucella
Question 4 · Clinical Bacteriology
A child develops bloody diarrhoea followed by haemolytic anaemia, thrombocytopenia and acute kidney injury. Which culture medium is traditionally used to screen stool for E. coli O157:H7?
- ACefsulodin-irgasan-novobiocin agar
- BXylose lysine deoxycholate agar
- CCampylobacter blood agar
- DSorbitol MacConkey agar
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Sorbitol MacConkey agar
Most E. coli O157:H7 strains do not ferment sorbitol and appear colourless on sorbitol MacConkey agar, unlike most other E. coli. Shiga toxin testing is also needed because non-O157 strains ferment sorbitol. CIN agar is used for Yersinia.
Reference: Manual of Clinical Microbiology, 12th ed.
How to use this diagnostic properly
- 1Sit it cold, once. Do not look anything up. A diagnostic you help yourself through tells you nothing. The number you get is only useful if it is honest.
- 2Read every rationale - especially the ones you got right. Getting a question right by elimination is not the same as knowing it. The worked reasoning is free above, whether or not you buy anything.
- 3Work weakest domain first. The breakdown orders your domains worst-first for exactly this reason. Studying what you are already good at feels productive and moves nothing.
- 4Re-sit under full exam conditions later. The real paper is far longer than this and stamina matters. Full-length timed papers are what the paid bank is for.