[Mission 2022] QUIZ – 2022: INSIGHTS STATIC QUIZ, 28 April 2022 – Science & Technology and IR

Solution: a)

Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) unveiled India’s first indigenously developed pneumococcal vaccine.

The vaccine targets the pneumococcal bacterium, which causes pneumonia and other serious life-threatening diseases such as meningitis and sepsis, and is estimated to cause nearly four lakh deaths in children under five years of age each year worldwide.

Pneumococcal disease is a significant contributor under-five mortality rate worldwide.

In view of its widespread fatality, the World Health Organization in 2018 recommended the inclusion of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in routine childhood immunisation programmes in all countries.

Pneumococcal bacteria spread from person-to-person by direct contact with respiratory secretions, like saliva or mucus. Many people, especially children, have the bacteria in their nose or throat at one time or another without being ill.

Solution: d)

A zoonosis is an infectious disease that has jumped from a non-human animal to humans. Zoonotic pathogens may be bacterial, viral or parasitic, or may involve unconventional agents and can spread to humans through direct contact or through food, water or the environment.

Various studies indicate that more than two-thirds of existing and emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic.

• The transboundary impact of viral outbreaks in recent years such as the Nipah virus, Ebola, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Avian Influenza.

Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection caused by the bacteria of the genus Brucella.

Solution: c)

A study done by the doctors of Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) has revealed that high Vitamin D levels reduce the risk of coronavirus infection, and administration of the vitamin in the infected patients considerably reduce mortality.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning that it dissolves in fats and oils and can be stored in your body for a long time.

• It is produced when sunlight (or artificial light, particularly in the ultraviolet region of 190-400 nm wavelength) falls on the skin and triggers a chemical reaction to a cholesterol-based molecule, and converts it into calcidiol in the liver and into calcitriol in the kidney.
• Its role: It is known to help in having the right amount of calcium in the bones, catalyse the process of protecting cell membranes from damage, preventing the inflammation of tissues and helping stop tissues from forming fibres and weakening bones from becoming brittle, leading to osteoporosis.
• Vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.

Solution: a)

A rare disease, also referred to as an orphan disease, is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population.

• Most rare diseases are genetic, and are present throughout a person’s entire life, even if symptoms do not immediately appear.

Characteristics:

• Rare diseases are characterised by a wide diversity of symptoms and signs that vary not only from disease to disease but also from patient to patient suffering from the same disease. Relatively common symptoms can hide underlying rare diseases, leading to misdiagnosis.
• The most common rare diseases recorded in India are Haemophilia, Thalassemia, sickle-cell anaemia and primary immuno deficiency in children, auto-immune diseases, Lysosomal storage disorders such as Pompe disease, Hirschsprung disease, Gaucher’s disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Hemangiomas and certain forms of muscular dystrophies.

Solution: d)

• TB is an infectious disease caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
• It typically affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect other sites such as the brain, the kidneys, or the spine.
• The disease is spread when people who are sick with pulmonary TB expel bacteria into the air, for example by coughing.
• In most cases, TB is treatable and curable; however, persons with TB can die if they do not get proper treatment.
• Diagnostic tests for TB disease include – Rapid molecular test, Sputum smear microscopy, Culture-based methods