Mosquito which breed in dirty and polluted water?

Appeared in: KPSC Staff Nurse - 2018

Explanation

Culex mosquitoes are specifically adapted to breed in stagnant water with high organic content.
Their larvae thrive in dirty and polluted environments such as open drains, cesspools, septic tanks, and sewage water.
This characteristic makes them a primary vector for diseases like Japanese Encephalitis and Bancroftian filariasis, especially in urban and semi-urban areas with inadequate sanitation.

Option A: Anopheles mosquitoes, the primary vectors for malaria, prefer to breed in relatively clean, unpolluted water sources like ponds, slow-moving streams, and irrigated fields.
Option C: Aedes mosquitoes breed in fresh or clean water collected in artificial, man-made containers found in and around human dwellings, such as water coolers, flower pots, and discarded tires.
Option D: Mansonoides mosquitoes have a unique breeding habit. Their larvae and pupae attach to the roots of specific aquatic plants (like Pistia and water hyacinth) to obtain oxygen, so they are found in ponds and lakes rich in such vegetation.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Mosquito breeding habits and vector-borne diseases as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
As a community health nurse, identifying local mosquito breeding sites is the first step in source reduction and preventing outbreaks of vector-borne diseases.
Patient education should focus on specific actions based on the prevalent mosquito type: for Culex, advise covering drains and septic tanks; for Aedes, emphasize emptying water containers weekly.
What if? If a health worker finds mosquito larvae in a clean overhead water tank, the immediate suspicion should be Aedes, not Culex. The intervention would be to advise covering the tank securely and cleaning it regularly, which is critical for preventing dengue and chikungunya.

How to Approach the Question

This is a factual recall question from community health nursing/entomology.
First, identify the key descriptors in the question: "dirty and polluted water".
Next, systematically recall the specific breeding habitats associated with each mosquito genus provided in the options.
Anopheles is linked with clean water.
Aedes is linked with artificial containers holding clean water.
Mansonoides is linked with aquatic plants.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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E6 Parks TextBook of Preventive & Social Medicine part 2 — Subpart B (pp 233-449 of 464) p. 87-89

Practise the full KPSC Staff Nurse - 2018

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