Question

Which of the following is not a water borne disease?
(a) Asthma
(b) Cholera
(c) Amoebiasis
(d) None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: This disease involves the airway tract.

Complete answer:
Infectious disease can be transmitted through some medium like food, water, air, soil, from person to person, and from insects or animals.

1. The diseases which are caused due to use polluted water either chemically or biologically.
2. Biological disease caused by water polluted with the infecting agents like virus, bacteria, protozoal, helminths.
3. Cholera is caused due to drinking or using water polluted by bacterium vibrio cholerae.
4. In the same way amoebiasis is caused by intake of water infected with protozoa Entamoeba histolytica.
5. Whereas, Asthma is an inflammatory condition of the lungs triggered due to the exposure of allergens.
6. Allergens come in respiratory tract through air while breathing
7. This leads to hypersensitivity reactions which causes excessive constriction of smooth muscles of bronchus along with secretion of mucus in the airway.
8. So it becomes difficult to inhale and exhale air for patients which results in breathlessness and wheeze.

Therefore, Asthma is not a water borne disease while Cholera and Amoebiasis are water borne diseases as their causative agent spreads through contaminated water.

So, the answer is (a) Asthma

Additional information: Examples of other water borne diseases
Caused by an infective agent:

Viral	Hepatitis A and E, poliomyelitis, diarrhoea, etc.
Bacteria	Typhoid, Paratyphoid, dysentery, cholera, etc.
Protozoal	Amoebiasis, Giardiasis, etc.
Helminthic	Roundworm, thread worm, tapeworm diseases, etc.

Caused by an aquatic host:

Snail	Schistosomiasis
Cyclops	Guineworm, fish tapeworm, etc.

Note:
1. Cardinal sign of Asthma is breathlessness caused due to the narrowing of bronchioles of the lung and excessive mucus secretion.
2. Wheeze is a high pitched sound formed while breathing which looks like whistling.
3. Abnormally over activity of the immune system is called hypersensitivity reaction.