Question

Which of the following metazoan parasites is transmitted through contaminated food or water?
(a) Ascaris
(b) Entamoeba
(c) Guinea worm
(d) Worm

Answer 1

Hint: There are a wide range of organisms that are pathogenic to humans and cause diseases in them. They may be bacteria, protozoans, viruses, fungi, etc. Metazoans include all animals except protozoa and sponges. The pathogen can enter our body by any means, say, through skin, contaminated food/water or may be through blood, etc. These pathogens/organisms act as parasites (endo/ecto) and they need to know the way of adapting their life in the body.

Complete Step by step answer:
(a) Ascaris: It is the common roundworm, and it is an intestinal parasite and is known to cause ascariasis in humans. A healthy person can acquire its infection through contaminated food and water.
Option (a) is correct.
(b) Entamoeba: It is a protozoan, and a parasite of the large intestine and causes amoebiasis/ amoebic dysentery in humans. Houseflies act as carriers and transmit the parasite from faeces of infected people to food and food products and contaminate them.
Option (b) is incorrect.
(c) Guinea worm: Dracunculiasis, also called Guinea-worm disease (GWD), is a parasitic infection by the Guinea worm. When a person drinks water that includes water, fleas infected with guinea worm larvae, they become infected.
Option (c) is incorrect.
(d) Worm: Different worms cause different diseases in humans and the way they infect the human body may also differ.
Option (d) is incorrect.

Hence, the correct answer is (a).

Note: Examples of some other disease-causing pathogens are:
Bacteria: Salmonella typhi, causes typhoid, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae causes pneumonia.
Protozoa: Plasmodium species causes malaria, Entamoeba causes amoebiasis.
Helminths: Ascaris causes ascariasis, Wuchereria species causes elephantiasis/filariasis.
Fungi: Microsporum, Trichophyton, Epidermophyton causes ring worms.
Viruses: Rhino virus causes common cold, HIV causes AIDS.