Read the given passage and answer the following questions.
Maintenance of personal and public hygiene is very important for prevention and control of many infectious diseases. Measures for personal hygiene include keeping the body clean; consumption of clean drinking water, food, vegetables, fruits, etc. Public hygiene includes proper disposal of waste and excreta; periodic cleaning and disinfection of water reservoirs, pools, cesspools and tanks and observing standard practices of hygiene in public catering. These measures are particularly essential where the infectious agents are transmitted through food and water such as typhoid, amoebiasis and ascariasis. The advancements made in biological science have armed us to effectively deal with many infectious diseases. The use of vaccines and immunisation programmes have enabled us to completely eradicate a deadly disease.
Which of the following diseases is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Both Dengue and Chikungunya
A vector is an organism that carries a pathogen from one person to another. Aedes mosquitoes are the vectors of two diseases named in the book: dengue and chikungunya. These diseases have spread widely in India, so controlling Aedes and its breeding places has become more important.
Option (1) Dengue — Correct statement, but it is only one of the correct points, so on its own it is not the answer. Dengue is one of the two vector-borne diseases the book links to Aedes mosquitoes.
Option (2) Typhoid — Incorrect. Typhoid is caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhi. It spreads through contaminated food and water, not by mosquitoes.
Option (3) Chikungunya — Correct statement, but it is only one of the correct points, so on its own it is not the answer. Chikungunya is the other disease the book links to Aedes mosquitoes.
Option (4) Both Dengue and Chikungunya — Correct. Aedes mosquitoes transmit both dengue and chikungunya, so this option gives the complete answer.
NCERT Extract:
Common Diseases in Humans – “… In addition, doors and windows should be provided with wire mesh to prevent the entry of mosquitoes. Such precautions have become more important especially in the light of recent widespread incidences of the vector-borne (Aedes mosquitoes) diseases like dengue and chikungunya in many parts of India.”