Which of the following diseases can be prevented by avoiding the touch of fresh water that may be contaminated with animal urine?

Appeared in: DSSSB 14 August 2024

Explanation

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease caused by spirochetes of the genus Leptospira.
The primary reservoirs are wild and domestic animals, such as rodents, cattle, and dogs, which shed the bacteria in their urine.
Humans acquire the infection through direct or indirect contact of mucous membranes or abraded skin with water or soil contaminated by the urine of these infected animals.
Avoiding contact with such contaminated fresh water is a key preventive measure for Leptospirosis.

Option A: Japanese encephalitis is a viral infection transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes, not through contaminated water.
Option B: Hansen's Disease (leprosy) is caused by a bacterium and is primarily spread through respiratory droplets from an infected person during prolonged, close contact.
Option C: Lymphatic filariasis is a parasitic disease caused by filarial worms and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Transmission of Zoonotic Diseases as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Nurses play a vital role in educating the public, especially in endemic areas, about the risks of exposure to contaminated water during monsoons and floods.
Occupational health nurses should counsel high-risk workers like farmers, veterinarians, and sanitation workers on using personal protective equipment (PPE) like boots and gloves.
Early recognition of symptoms like high fever, severe myalgia (especially calf pain), and conjunctival suffusion is critical for prompt treatment and preventing severe complications like Weil's disease (jaundice and renal failure).

How to Approach the Question

First, carefully read the question stem to identify the specific mode of transmission described. The key phrase is 'avoiding the touch of fresh water that may be contaminated with animal urine'.
Next, evaluate each of the four options based on your knowledge of their transmission routes.
Recall or deduce that Japanese encephalitis and Lymphatic filariasis are vector-borne diseases, transmitted by mosquitoes.
Recall that Hansen's Disease (leprosy) is spread through respiratory droplets via prolonged close contact.
Identify that Leptospirosis is the classic example of a disease transmitted through water contaminated with the urine of infected animals.
Conclude that Leptospirosis is the only option that matches the transmission route described in the question.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Transmission of Zoonotic Diseases
Stem keywords: diseases, prevented, avoiding, fresh water, contaminated, animal urine
Lead-in keywords: Which
Negative lead-in flag: false

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E6 Medicine Harrison 22e Part 1 p. 1481-1483

E6 Ghai Essential Pediatrics(pp 26-904 of 913) p. 268-270

E6 Parks TextBook of Preventive & Social Medicine part 1 — Subpart B (pp 202-403 of 604) p. 155-157

Practise the full DSSSB 14 August 2024

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