Biology · Science General

Disease Causative Agents

2,258 Questions

Disease causative agents questions test your understanding of viral, bacterial, and fungal infections, along with their transmission methods. These are common topics in general science sections of SSC and railways exams. Practice these questions to accurately identify disease pathogens and symptoms.

Viral diseasesFoodborne illnessesDisease transmission methodsExtrinsic disease factorsCommon pathogens

Disease Causative Agents Questions

Multiple choice

Cold and flu are caused by

  1. bacteria

  2. fungi

  3. algae

  4. virus
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Common cold and influenza (flu) are both caused by viruses, specifically rhinoviruses and influenza viruses respectively. Bacteria cause different types of infections like strep throat or tuberculosis, fungi cause conditions like yeast infections, and algae are plant-like organisms not involved in human respiratory infections.

Multiple choice

Contaminated water can cause the following diseases except

  1. hepatitis A

  2. typhoid

  3. measles

  4. cholera
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Hepatitis A, typhoid, and cholera are all waterborne diseases transmitted through contaminated water. Measles is an airborne disease spread through respiratory droplets and is not caused by water contamination.

Multiple choice

Which of the following diseases is not a bacterial disease?

  1. Typhoid

  2. Tuberculosis

  3. Dengue fever

  4. Cholera
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Typhoid, tuberculosis, and cholera are all bacterial diseases caused by Salmonella typhi, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Vibrio cholerae respectively. Dengue fever is a viral disease caused by the dengue virus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, making it the only non-bacterial option listed.

Multiple choice

Abnormally folded prion proteins are generally

  1. relatively sensitive to protease digestion

  2. associated with CGD

  3. present in follicular dendritic cells in individuals with transmissible spongiform encephalopathies

  4. normally eliminated by B-cells

  5. destroyed by macrophages
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

FDCs naturally express high levels of the normal prion protein which then becomes abnormal following exposure to the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) agent.

Multiple choice

The virus which causes measles, influenza and rabies in human beings belongs to the category of ___________ viruses.

  1. positive sense single-stranded RNA (ssRNA+)

  2. negative sense single-stranded RNA (ssRNA-)

  3. double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)

  4. single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)

  5. reverse-transcribing viruses
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

In this group, some or all of the genes are translated into protein from an RNA strand complementary to that of the genome (as packaged in the virus particle). There are some plant viruses in this group and it also includes the viruses that cause measles, influenza and rabies.

Multiple choice

Wrestling is a physical competition between two sparring partners. Which of the following is a common viral disease in wrestlers?

  1. Oral herpes

  2. Herpes keratitis

  3. Herpes whitlow

  4. Herpes gladiatorum

  5. Eczema herpeticum
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

This is contracted by wrestlers. It apparently spreads by direct contact from skin lesions on one wrestler to his/her opponent, and usually appears in the head and neck region (which are frequently sites of contact in wrestling holds).

Multiple choice

What is mumps?

  1. Infection and inflammation of paratoid gland

  2. Infection and inflammation of submaxillary gland

  3. Infection and inflammation of sublingual gland

  4. Inflammation of thyroid gland
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Mumps is infection and inflammation of parotid gland by paramyxovirus.