Contaminated water and food cause which disease?

Appeared in: KGMU 2023

Explanation

Typhoid fever is caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi.
The primary mode of transmission is the fecal-oral route.
This occurs through the ingestion of food or water that has been contaminated with the feces or urine of an infected person or a chronic carrier.
Poor sanitation and hygiene are major contributing factors to the spread of typhoid.

Option B: Measles is a viral disease transmitted through the respiratory route, not through contaminated food or water.
Option C: Dengue is a viral infection transmitted by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito.
Option D: Malaria is a parasitic disease transmitted by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito.

Visual 1: Flowchart - A flowchart illustrating the different modes of disease transmission (e.g., water-borne, air-borne, vector-borne, direct contact) with examples for each, clearly placing Typhoid under the water-borne category.
Visual 2: Infographic - An infographic showing the cycle of Typhoid transmission, from an infected person to contamination of water/food sources and then to a new host.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Knowing Modes of transmission of communicable diseases helps nurses interpret findings accurately and avoid errors in routine assessment, medication administration, and patient teaching.
Understanding the mode of transmission is the first step in preventing and controlling the spread of infectious diseases. For a nurse, this knowledge is crucial for implementing the correct type of isolation precautions (e.g., contact, droplet, airborne).
For a patient with Typhoid, a nurse would implement enteric precautions, which involve strict hand hygiene, safe disposal of feces and urine, and ensuring the patient does not handle food for others.
What if? If a patient presents with high fever and respiratory symptoms like a cough and runny nose, the nurse should suspect an airborne illness like Measles (if the patient is un-vaccinated) and initiate airborne precautions, not enteric precautions. This highlights how knowing the transmission route guides immediate nursing action.

How to Approach the Question

First, read the question carefully to identify the key information: 'Contaminated water and food'.
This is a direct recall question that tests your knowledge of epidemiology.
Go through each option and recall its primary mode of transmission.
Option A (Typhoid): Recall that it's a classic water-borne/food-borne disease (enteric fever).
Option B (Measles): Recall that it's an airborne viral infection.
Option C (Dengue) and D (Malaria): Recall that both are vector-borne diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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Practise the full KGMU 2023

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.