Question

The causative agent of filaria is:
(a) Wuchereria bancrofti
(b) Leishmania donovani
(c) Plasmodium vivax
(d) Trypanosoma gambiense

Answer 1

Hint: This pathogen, commonly known as Filariworm is the major cause of filaria which is commonly known as elephantiasis.

Complete answer:
The causative agent of lymphatic filariasis is the human parasitic worm Wuchereria Bancrofti. Together with Brugia malayi and B. timori, it infects the lymphatic system. These filarial worms get spread by a variety of mosquitos, such as the Culex mosquitoes.
Wuchereria Bancrofti infests the lymphatic system and blocks the flow of lymph that causes swelling of limbs.
So, the correct answer is Wuchereria bancrofti.

Additional Information:
Leishmania Donovan is a species of intracellular parasites that belong to the genus Leishmania. This genus is a group of haemoflagellate kinetoplastids that cause the disease leishmaniasis. It is a human blood parasite responsible for Kala-azar.
Plasmodium vivax is a protozoan parasite that infects humans. It is the most frequent cause of recurring malaria.
Trypanosoma gambiense causes the African sleeping sickness which is transmitted to humans by the bite of tsetse flies.

Note: A causative agent is an organism or toxic chemical that is responsible for the development of a disease, such as a virus, parasite, fungus, or bacterium.
The vaccine is commercially unavailable, but high rates of cure have been achieved with various antifilarial regimens. The WHO Global Program has made lymphatic filariasis as the target to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis with the aim to eradicate the disease as a public health problem by 2020.