Question

The vector for plague is
A. Anopheles
B. Aedes
C. Xenopsylla
D. Culex

Answer 1

Plague disease is a bacterial infection caused by strains of Yersinia pestis bacteria. It can get transmitted from animals to humans. It was one of the deadliest diseases of the past.

Step by step answer: Plague was a severe disease until recent years. Today we have developed effective treatment against the plague with the help of antibiotics. The plague is caused by bacteria and present in animals. It is called zoonotic infection as the disease spreads from animals to humans. The infectious agents are generally called pathogens. These disease-causing pathogens are transmitted from one person to another in many ways. The transmitting agents of these microbes are called vectors. Vectors for plague disease are organisms called fleas. They harbor the plague causing bacteria and transmit the disease from one person to another.
-Xenopsylla is the most common type of flea that transmits plague bacteria.
-Anopheles is a type of mosquito that acts as a vector of several diseases. Most important among them is malaria.
-Aedes is also a type of mosquito that transmits several diseases like dengue fever and chikungunya.
-Culex is also a type of mosquito species and acts as vectors for diseases like Japanese encephalitis.
Most vectors are mosquitoes. But organisms like ticks and fleas also act as vectors and transmit several diseases. Proper waste disposal and public hygiene helps to prevent the growth of these vectors and helps us to prevent these diseases.
Hence, the correct answer is Option C

Note: The term vector is also used in gene transfer. In that context, vectors are the vehicles that bring specific genes to the desired cell. Bacteriophages are the virus that infects bacterias and are commonly used as vectors for gene transfer.