Q1. Which of the following species of Shigella is most prevalent in India and other developing nations?
(a) Shigella sonnei
(b) Shigella dysenteriae
(c) Shigella flexneri
(d) Shigella boydii
Q2. Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (HUS), a complication of severe shigellosis, is characterised by which of the following triads?
(a) Fever, rash, and joint pain
(b) Haemolytic anaemia, thrombocytopenia, and acute kidney injury
(c) Hypotension, tachycardia, and respiratory failure
(d) Jaundice, hepatomegaly, and coagulopathy
Q3. Consider the following statements about Shigella:
- Shigella requires ingestion of millions of bacterial cells to cause infection.
- Shigella is transmitted exclusively through contaminated water.
- Shigella invades the epithelial lining of the large intestine.
Which of the statements above is/are correct?
(a) 3 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Q4. India’s National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (NAP-AMR) was launched in:
(a) 2014
(b) 2017
(c) 2019
(d) 2021
Q5. Which of the following government programmes most directly addresses the faecal-oral transmission pathway that enables Shigella spread in rural India?
(a) National Mental Health Programme
(b) Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
(c) Jal Jeevan Mission
(d) National Tobacco Control Programme
ANSWERS
1: (c)
- flexneri dominates in low- and middle-income countries including India, while S. sonnei is more common in high-income, industrialised nations.
2: (b)
HUS is triggered by Shiga toxin, particularly from S. dysenteriae Type 1, and involves this classic triad of blood, platelet, and kidney abnormalities.
3: (a)
Shigella has an extremely low infectious dose (10-100 cells), not millions — so Statement 1 is wrong. It also spreads through food and contact, not water alone — so Statement 2 is wrong. Only Statement 3 is correct.
4: (b)
India launched NAP-AMR in 2017 to build a coordinated national framework for surveillance, stewardship, and research on drug resistance.
5: (c)
Jal Jeevan Mission targets safe piped water access to every rural household, directly disrupting the contaminated water pathway central to Shigella and other enteric disease transmission.