Question

Amoebiasis can be prevented by:
(A) Administration of Vaccines
(B) Preventing contamination of food by flies
(C) Giving oral rehydration
(D) Giving a dose of Chloroquine

Answer 1

It is a parasitic infection of the colon. It mainly occurs due to improper good hygiene. The food should be covered with lids and should not be left open.

Complete step by step answer: Amoebiasis infection is most common in tropical areas with untreated water. It spreads through drinking or eating uncooked food, such as fruit, that may have been washed in contaminated water. Entamoeba histolytica is a single-celled protozoan that usually enters the human body when a person ingests cysts through food or water. It can also enter the body through direct contact with faecal matter. The cysts are a relatively inactive form of the parasite that can live for several months in the soil or environment where they were deposited in faeces. The microscopic cysts are present in soil, fertilizer or water that’s been contaminated with the faeces. Food handlers may transmit the cysts while preparing or handling food. Transmission is also possible during anal sex, oral-anal sex and colonic irrigation. When cysts enter the body, they lodge in the digestive tract. They then release an invasive, active form of the parasite called a ‘trophozoite’. The parasites reproduce in the digestive tract and migrate to the large intestine. There, they can burrow into the intestinal wall of the colon. This causes bloody diarrhoea, colitis and tissue destruction. The infected person can then spread the disease by releasing new cysts into the environment through infected faeces. It can be prevented by proper food hygiene.
Hence, the correct answer is option B.

Note: Some common symptoms of amoebiasis are loose stool, severe illness, infections, abdominal cramping and stomach pain. However, most people with amoebiasis won’t experience significant symptoms.