Read the given passage and answer the following question:
The term health is very frequently used by everybody. How do we define it? Health does not simply mean ‘absence of disease’ or ‘physical fitness’. It could be defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. When people are healthy, they are more efficient at work. This increases productivity and brings economic prosperity. Health also increases longevity of people and reduces infant and maternal mortality. When the functioning of one or more organs or systems of the body is adversely affected, characterised by appearance of various signs and symptoms, we say that we are not healthy, i.e., we have a disease. Diseases can be broadly grouped into infectious and non-infectious. A wide range of organisms belonging to bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoans, helminths, etc., could cause diseases in man. Such disease-causing organisms are called pathogens. Most parasites are therefore pathogens as they cause harm to the host by living in (or on) them. The pathogens can enter our body by various means, multiply, and interfere with normal vital activities, resulting in morphological and functional damage. Pathogens have to adapt to life within the environment of the host. For example, the pathogens that enter the gut must know a way of surviving in the stomach at low pH and resisting the various digestive enzymes.
The passage states that fungi are among the organisms that cause diseases in man. Which one of the following statements about ringworm is incorrect?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Ringworm is generally acquired by drinking water or eating food contaminated by an infected person.
The passage names fungi among the pathogens of man, but it does not describe any fungal disease. Ringworm is one of the most common infectious diseases in man, caused by fungi of the genera Microsporum, Trichophyton and Epidermophyton. It is a skin infection, so it spreads by contact, not through the gut.
Option (1) Many fungi belonging to the genera Microsporum, Trichophyton and Epidermophyton are responsible for ringworms. — A correct statement. These three genera of fungi cause ringworm.
Option (2) Dry, scaly lesions on the skin, nails and scalp, accompanied by intense itching, are the main symptoms of ringworm. — A correct statement. The main signs are dry, scaly lesions on the skin, nails and scalp, with intense itching.
Option (3) Ringworm is generally acquired by drinking water or eating food contaminated by an infected person. — The incorrect statement. That is how typhoid or amoebiasis spreads. Ringworm is generally acquired from soil or by using towels, clothes or even the comb of infected individuals.
Option (4) Heat and moisture help ringworm fungi to grow, which makes them thrive in skin folds such as those in the groin or between the toes. — A correct statement. The fungi grow well in warm, moist places, so skin folds in the groin and between the toes are common sites.
NCERT Extract:
Common Diseases in Humans – “… Many fungi belonging to the genera Microsporum, Trichophyton and Epidermophyton are responsible for ringworms which is one of the most common infectious diseases in man. Appearance of dry, scaly lesions on various parts of the body such as skin, nails and scalp … are the main symptoms of the disease. These lesions are accompanied by intense itching. Heat and moisture help these fungi to grow, which makes them thrive in skin folds such as those in the groin or between the toes. Ringworms are generally acquired from soil or by using towels, clothes or even the comb of infected individuals.”