During an outbreak of acute encephalitic syndrome in Uttar Pradesh, cases cluster near paddy fields and peridomestic pig rearing. The vector responsible for transmission of Japanese encephalitis virus is:
- A Culex vishnui group mosquitoes, with pigs as amplifying hosts ✓
- B Aedes aegypti breeding in domestic water storage
- C Anopheles culicifacies, with cattle as reservoirs
- D Phlebotomus sandflies, with rodents as reservoirs
Correct answer: A. Culex vishnui group mosquitoes, with pigs as amplifying hosts
Explanation
Japanese encephalitis virus is transmitted chiefly by Culex vishnui group mosquitoes (especially Culex tritaeniorhynchus), which breed in rice paddies. Pigs act as amplifying vertebrate hosts because they develop high-titre viraemia without disease; wading birds are natural reservoirs while humans and cattle are dead-end hosts. Aedes species transmit dengue and yellow fever, and sandflies transmit arboviruses such as Chandipura and leishmaniasis, not JE.
Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
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