UPSC Prelims 2019 · GS Paper I
Question 98: Science and Technology
Which of the following are the reasons for the occurrence of multi-drug resistance in microbial pathogens in India?
- 1.Genetic predisposition of some people
- 2.Taking incorrect doses of antibiotics to cure diseases
- 3.Using antibiotics in livestock farming
- 4.Multiple chronic diseases in some people
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (b).
Statements 2 and 3 are correct. Multi-drug resistance in microbes grows when antibiotics are used wrongly: incorrect doses or incomplete courses let surviving bacteria develop resistance, and antibiotics used in livestock farming spread resistant microbes through food and the environment. A person's genetic predisposition or having multiple chronic diseases does not make the microbes themselves resistant.
- 1. A person's genes do not make microbes resistant.
- 2. Incorrect doses let resistant microbes survive.
- 3. Antibiotics in livestock spread resistant microbes.
- 4. Chronic disease in people does not itself cause microbial resistance.
How you could have got this
- If you were sure statement 1 is not correct, (a) and (c) go: each of them includes 1.
What you needed to know: A person's genes do not make microbes resistant.
- Then, if you were sure statement 4 is not correct, (d) goes: it includes 4.
What you needed to know: Chronic disease in people does not itself cause microbial resistance.
Only (b) is left. You didn’t need statements 2 or 3.
Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Genetic predisposition of people is not a cause of microbial resistance.
- (b) Correct: wrong dosing and use in livestock cause resistance.
- (c) Genetic predisposition and chronic diseases do not cause microbial resistance.
- (d) Chronic diseases in people do not cause microbial resistance.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2019, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.