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Difficulty: HardHuman Physiology, Health, and Diseases

Consider the following statements regarding major human infectious diseases and their modes of transmission:

1. Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) is caused by a protozoan parasite and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected sandflies.
2. Japanese Encephalitis is a bacterial disease transmitted to humans primarily through the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes.
3. Chikungunya is caused by an RNA virus and is transmitted to humans primarily by Aedes mosquitoes.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 and 3 onlyAnswer
  2. B
    1 and 2 only
  3. C
    2 and 3 only
  4. D
    1, 2 and 3

Answer

Statements 1 and 3 are correct.
Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) is caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani and transmitted to humans via phlebotomine sandflies. Chikungunya is caused by an RNA alphavirus transmitted principally by Aedes mosquitoes. Conversely, Japanese Encephalitis is a mosquito-borne viral encephalitis caused by a flavivirus and transmitted by Culex mosquitoes (predominantly Culex tritaeniorhynchus), making statement 2 false and rendering the option specifying '1 and 3 only' the correct choice.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Evaluate Statement 1 regarding Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar)
Statement 1 is correct.
Visceral Leishmaniasis is caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani and is transmitted by the bite of infected female phlebotomine sandflies (Phlebotomus argentipes).
2
Evaluate Statement 2 regarding Japanese Encephalitis
Statement 2 is incorrect.
Japanese Encephalitis is caused by the Japanese Encephalitis Virus (a flavivirus, not a bacterium) and is transmitted primarily by mosquitoes of the Culex genus (mainly Culex tritaeniorhynchus), not Anopheles mosquitoes.
3
Evaluate Statement 3 regarding Chikungunya
Statement 3 is correct.
Chikungunya is an infection caused by the Chikungunya virus (an RNA virus of the Togaviridae family) transmitted to humans by Aedes mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus).

Key Concept

Classification of infectious human diseases by pathogen type (protozoan, viral, bacterial) and their specific insect vectors
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Topics

Human Physiology, Health, and Diseases

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