Question:medium
Which of the following is FALSE regarding Japanese encephalitis?
Which of the following is FALSE regarding Japanese encephalitis?
Show Hint
Most JE infections are silent, so which absolute claim breaks down?
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- During epidemics, 2 to 3 cases are seen in a village
- A bite from an infected mosquito is always associated with disease
- About 70% of patients are children below 5 years of age
- The overt disease to inapparent infection ratio is 1:100
Show Solution
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
This is a negative-stem question, so we must find the one statement that does not fit the known behaviour of Japanese encephalitis.
JE is an arbovirus spread by Culex mosquitoes, kept going in nature by pigs and water birds, and humans are dead-end hosts. A defining feature of JE is that clinical illness is rare relative to the number of infections.
Checking the options: epidemics do show only a handful of cases per village, which fits the sparse clustering of JE. Children, especially the young, form most of the cases, so the paediatric predominance fits. A very low overt-to-inapparent ratio (only a small number show disease for every many infected) also fits the picture of a mostly silent infection.
The statement that an infected mosquito bite always leads to disease contradicts this core fact. Because most infections stay subclinical, a bite seldom produces overt encephalitis. Therefore this is the false statement.
\[\boxed{\text{A bite from an infected mosquito is always associated with disease}}\]
JE is an arbovirus spread by Culex mosquitoes, kept going in nature by pigs and water birds, and humans are dead-end hosts. A defining feature of JE is that clinical illness is rare relative to the number of infections.
Checking the options: epidemics do show only a handful of cases per village, which fits the sparse clustering of JE. Children, especially the young, form most of the cases, so the paediatric predominance fits. A very low overt-to-inapparent ratio (only a small number show disease for every many infected) also fits the picture of a mostly silent infection.
The statement that an infected mosquito bite always leads to disease contradicts this core fact. Because most infections stay subclinical, a bite seldom produces overt encephalitis. Therefore this is the false statement.
\[\boxed{\text{A bite from an infected mosquito is always associated with disease}}\]
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