In the Iceberg phenomenon of disease, the submerged (invisible) portion of the iceberg represents:

• A Severe and terminal cases not accessible to health services
• B Deaths occurring at home not registered in the vital registration system
• C Sub-clinical infections, carrier states, and mild undiagnosed cases in the community ✓
• D Hospital admissions not captured in community surveys

Explanation

The iceberg phenomenon illustrates that for many diseases, the visible 'tip' (clinical cases diagnosed) is far smaller than the submerged mass of sub-clinical infections, carriers, and latent or mild cases in the community. This has implications for surveillance (true burden is underestimated), transmission (unrecognised cases drive spread), and control. The concept was introduced by Brian MacMahon and is fundamental to understanding disease reservoirs.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.