Which one of the following diseases is caused by water pollution ? (A) Hepatitis (B) Asthma (C) Pneumonia (D)

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Q. Which one of the following diseases is caused by water pollution ? (A) Hepatitis (B) Asthma (C) Pneumonia (D) Deafness

CBSECBSE Class XII Board 2024MCQ· 1mImportance★★★★★

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Concept understanding — Waterborne Diseases

Waterborne Diseases – From Intuition to Precision

Imagine you drink a glass of water that looks perfectly clear. A few hours later, your stomach cramps, you feel nauseous, and you spend the rest of the day running to the bathroom. What happened? The water looked clean, but it carried invisible passengers — microscopic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that hitched a ride into your body through that single sip.

That is the core idea behind waterborne diseases: illnesses caused by drinking or coming into contact with water contaminated by disease-causing microorganisms (pathogens). The water itself is not the enemy; it is the delivery vehicle.

The Intuition: Water as a Highway for Germs

Think of water as a busy highway. When it flows through clean pipes or a protected well, it carries only harmless minerals. But when human or animal waste enters that water — through open defecation near a river, a leaking sewage pipe mixing with drinking water, or floodwater washing over latrines — the highway suddenly carries dangerous cargo.

You do not need to swallow much. Even a few dozen bacteria of Vibrio cholerae (the cause of cholera) can multiply in your intestines and trigger severe diarrhoea within hours. The disease spreads because water connects everyone: one person’s waste can end up in another person’s drinking cup.

The Precise Statement

Waterborne diseases are infectious diseases transmitted primarily through water contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, protozoa, or helminths). The typical route is faecal-oral transmission : pathogens from infected faeces enter a new host via ingestion of contaminated water.

The key elements are:

Causative agent – a living pathogen (not a chemical poison)
Vehicle – water (drinking, cooking, washing food, or recreational water like swimming pools)
Portal of entry – the mouth (ingestion)
Source of contamination – almost always human or animal faeces

Common Examples You Should Know

Disease	Pathogen Type	Key Symptom	Why It Is Dangerous
Cholera	Bacterium (Vibrio cholerae)	Profuse watery diarrhoea ("rice-water stool")	Rapid dehydration can kill within hours
Typhoid	Bacterium (Salmonella typhi)	High fever, abdominal pain, rose-coloured rash	Can cause intestinal perforation if untreated
Hepatitis A	Virus (HAV)	Jaundice, fever, fatigue	Attacks the liver; no specific cure
Giardiasis	Protozoan (Giardia lamblia)	Foul-smelling diarrhoea, bloating	Can become chronic in children, stunting growth

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Hepatitis is a disease directly caused by consuming water contaminated with certain viruses, making it a waterborne illness.

Water pollution occurs when harmful substances, such as chemicals, microorganisms, and waste, contaminate water bodies like rivers, lakes, oceans, and groundwater. This contamination can render water unsafe for drinking, recreation, agriculture, and industrial use, posing significant threats to human health and ecosystems. One of the most direct and severe impacts on human health is the transmission of waterborne diseases.

Waterborne diseases are illnesses caused by pathogenic microorganisms that are transmitted through contaminated water. These pathogens, which include bacteria, viruses, and parasites, enter the human body primarily through the ingestion of polluted drinking water. Once ingested, they can cause a range of symptoms, from mild gastrointestinal discomfort to severe, life-threatening conditions.

Let's examine the given options:

Hepatitis: This term refers to inflammation of the liver. While there are several types of hepatitis, Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E are specifically known to be transmitted through the fecal-oral route, often via contaminated water or food. When water sources are polluted with sewage containing the viruses that cause Hepatitis A or E, consuming this water can lead to infection. Symptoms can include fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, and jaundice.
Asthma: Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition characterized by inflammation and narrowing of the airways, leading to symptoms like wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. While environmental factors play a significant role in triggering asthma attacks, these are typically related to air quality (allergens, pollutants, irritants in the air) rather than direct water pollution. …

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CBSE 2024Set 64/2/11 markMCQ
$Q. Which one of the following diseases is caused by water pollution ? (A) Hepatitis (B) Asthma (C) Pneumonia (D) Deafness$
›Reveal solutionSolution
Hepatitis is a disease directly caused by consuming water contaminated with certain viruses, making it a waterborne illness.

Water pollution occurs when harmful substances, such as chemicals, microorganisms, and waste, contaminate water bodies like rivers, lakes, oceans, and groundwater. This contamination can render water unsafe for drinking, recreation, agriculture, and industrial use, posing significant threats to human health and ecosystems. One of the most direct and severe impacts on human health is the transmission of waterborne diseases.

Waterborne diseases are illnesses caused by pathogenic microorganisms that are transmitted through contaminated water. These pathogens, which include bacteria, viruses, and parasites, enter the human body primarily through the ingestion of polluted drinking water. Once ingested, they can cause a range of symptoms, from mild gastrointestinal discomfort to severe, life-threatening conditions.

Let's examine the given options:

Hepatitis: This term refers to inflammation of the liver. While there are several types of hepatitis, Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E are specifically known to be transmitted through the fecal-oral route, often via contaminated water or food. When water sources are polluted with sewage containing the viruses that cause Hepatitis A or E, consuming this water can lead to infection. Symptoms can include fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, and jaundice.

Asthma: Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition characterized by inflammation and narrowing of the airways, leading to symptoms like wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. While environmental factors play a significant role in triggering asthma attacks, these are typically related to air quality (allergens, pollutants, irritants in the air) rather than direct water pollution. …
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Q.Which one of the following diseases is caused by water pollution ? (A) Hepatitis (B) Asthma (C) Pneumonia (D) Deafness

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