Key Concepts & Self-Assessment15 Key Facts
Review key Infectious Diseases: Bacterial, Viral & Vector-Borne Pathogens exam facts and rate your mastery to track revision.
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#1
Bacterial diseases (TB, cholera, typhoid, tetanus) are treatable with targeted antibiotics, unlike viral infections.
#2
Malaria is caused by the protozoan parasite Plasmodium and transmitted through the vector female Anopheles mosquito.
#3
Dengue, Yellow Fever, and Zika viruses are transmitted to humans through the vector mosquito Aedes aegypti.
#4
Edward Jenner developed the first successful vaccine in 1796, utilizing cowpox inoculation to confer immunity against smallpox.
#5
The BCG vaccine provides immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, administered intradermally at birth or during early infancy.
#6
The causative agent of cholera, Vibrio cholerae, colonizes the small intestine and secretes cholera toxin, an enterotoxin that triggers severe watery diarrhea and rapid dehydration.
#7
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is an enveloped retrovirus containing reverse transcriptase that infects and destroys CD4+ T helper lymphocytes, resulting in AIDS.
#8
Hepatitis B is a DNA virus transmitted via infectious blood or bodily fluids, whereas Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E are transmitted through the fecal-oral route via contaminated water.
#9
Rabies virus belongs to the Rhabdoviridae family; it is a neurotropic, single-stranded RNA virus transmitted through animal bites that causes fatal encephalitis unless intercepted by post-exposure prophylaxis.
#10
The Widal test is a serological agglutination assay used to detect antibodies against the somatic (O) and flagellar (H) antigens of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi in typhoid fever.
#11
Jonas Salk developed the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) using killed virus strains in 1953, while Albert Sabin introduced the live-attenuated oral polio vaccine (OPV) in 1961.
#12
Herd immunity is achieved when a sufficiently high proportion of a population is immune to an infectious disease, interrupting pathogen transmission chains and protecting susceptible non-immune individuals.
#13
Amoebic dysentery is caused by the protozoan Entamoeba histolytica, which forms infective quadrinucleate cysts excreted in human feces and ingested through contaminated food and water.
#14
Kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis) is caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani and transmitted to humans through the bite of the phlebotomine sandfly (Phlebotomus argentipes).
#15
Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, such as those developed against SARS-CoV-2, deliver lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated synthetic mRNA instructing host ribosomes to translate the viral spike protein and generate neutralising antibodies.
Subject Specialist Commentary
Analytical perspective & practical exam advice from the Master10 academic board
Infectious diseases arise when microscopic pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and protozoa invade human host tissues. Bacterial infections like tuberculosis, cholera, and typhoid can be treated with targeted antibiotics. In contrast, viral infections such as rabies, dengue, and influenza cannot be cured with antibiotics, requiring immunization or antivirals. Many tropical infections depend on insect carriers, including the female Anopheles mosquito, the Aedes mosquito, and the phlebotomine sandfly that transmits kala-azar.
In UPSC Prelims and SSC CGL exams, questions consistently test pathogen classifications, mosquito vectors, and diagnostic tests. A common MCQ trap tests disease causes: remember that malaria is caused by a protozoan parasite, not a virus, while dengue is viral. Watch out for diagnostic assays: the Widal test confirms typhoid fever. For exam revision, recall that Edward Jenner pioneered vaccination using cowpox, and the BCG vaccine protects newborn infants against tuberculosis.
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