In the transmission of bubonic plague, fleas feed on infected rats and then bite humans. In this case, the flea is the

Select one:

a. reservoir

b. carrier

c. vector

d. host

e. all of the above

C. Vector

Explanation:

Plague or bubonic plague is also called as black death. The pathogen responsible for this disease is Yersinia pestis. It is primarily a disease of rodents but can accidentally affect man. It spreads from rat to rat through rat flea (Xenopsylla) i. e flea act as the vector which transmits disease from one rat to another. But when the infected rats die, the fleas leave their body and can even bite man and inject the plague germs into his body. The symptoms of bubonic plague include high fever and a bubo or lump in the groin region or in the armpit region. Red patches appear on skin which turn black and ultimately leads to death called black death.