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 among the following diseases is caused by Wuchereria bancrofti?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Elephantiasis
Wuchereria (W. bancrofti and W. malayi) are filarial worms. They live for many years in the lymphatic vessels, usually of the lower limbs. They cause slow, chronic inflammation, and the limbs swell greatly. This disease is elephantiasis, also called filariasis. The worms pass to healthy persons through the bite of female mosquitoes.
NCERT Extract:
Common Diseases in Humans – “… Wuchereria (W. bancrofti and W. malayi), the filarial worms cause a slowly developing chronic inflammation of the organs in which they live for many years, usually the lymphatic vessels of the lower limbs and the disease is called elephantiasis or filariasis (Figure 7.2). The genital organs are also often affected, resulting in gross deformities.”