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 not transmitted through contaminated food and water?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Pneumonia
The passage states that hygiene is “particularly essential where the infectious agents are transmitted through food and water such as typhoid, amoebiasis and ascariasis”.
So typhoid, ascariasis and amoebiasis all spread through contaminated food and water; pneumonia does not.
Option (1) Typhoid — Transmitted through contaminated food and water. Typhoid is caused by Salmonella typhi, which enters the small intestine through contaminated food and water.
Option (2) Ascariasis — Transmitted through contaminated food and water. Eggs of the roundworm Ascaris pass out with the faeces of infected persons and contaminate soil, water and plants. A healthy person picks them up through contaminated water, vegetables and fruits.
Option (3) Pneumonia — Not transmitted through contaminated food and water. Pneumonia is caused by bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae, which infect the alveoli of the lungs. A healthy person gets it by inhaling droplets or aerosols from an infected person, or by sharing glasses and utensils with them.
Option (4) Amoebiasis — Transmitted through contaminated food and water. Entamoeba histolytica lives in the large intestine. Houseflies act as mechanical carriers and carry the parasite from faeces to food and water.