Question

Ronald Ross discovered female Anopheles to be a vector of malaria while serving in
A. Chennai
B. Kolkata
C. Pune
D. Bangalore

Answer 1

Malaria is caused by Plasmodium protozoan. Malaria is transmitted by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. Moreover, Ronald Ross discovered female Anopheles to be a vector of malaria while working in a city in the eastern states.

Complete step by step answer: Dr. Ronald Ross was an Ex physician in the Indian army. While he was working in Secunderabad, West Bengal, he discovered the confirmed relationship between the mosquito and malaria. He made his discovery in 1897. He raised twenty mosquitoes and let them feed on a patient’s blood who was suffering from malaria. He then discovered the malarial parasite in the stomach of one of his mosquitoes. After this on the next day he was able to confirm that the parasite was growing. By the next year, Sir Ronald Ross made his confirmations about how the malarial parasite spread in Kolkata at the Presidency General Hospital which is now known as the SSKM Hospital. He used birds that were subjected to avian malaria. He found that the parasite first developed in the stomachs of the mosquitoes and then it moved to the salivary gland. From here it would infect the new hosts. Therefore, Sir Ronald Ross was able to discover the oocyte formation in the life cycle of the mosquitoes.
Sir Ronald Ross discovered the malarial parasite in the stomach of one of his mosquitoes on 20th August. Due to this reason, 20th August is celebrated as Malaria day every year. Moreover, 29th August is celebrated as the mosquito day every year.
Hence, the correct answer is Option B

Note: Plasmodium was first discovered by Charles Laveran in 1880. Lancisi noticed the malarial parasite in the human blood for the first time. He suspected the relationship between malaria and mosquito. Grassi described the life cycle of the parasite in the female Anopheles mosquito in 1898. Shortt and Garnham in 1948 discovered the full life cycle of the malarial parasite.