Which of the following pairs is/are correctly matched? 1. Malaria : Mycobacterium 2. TB : Plasmodium Select the answer using the code given below:

The pairs provided in the question are incorrectly matched. Malaria is an infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium, which are transmitted to humans through the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes [1]. It is not caused by Mycobacterium. Conversely, Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis [3]. It primarily affects the lungs and is characterized by symptoms such as persistent cough, fever, and fatigue [2]. The question swaps the causative agents for these two diseases: Mycobacterium is the genus associated with TB, while Plasmodium is the genus associated with malaria [3]. Therefore, neither pair 1 nor pair 2 is correctly matched, making option 4 the correct choice.

Sources

1. [1] Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 8: Natural Hazards and Disaster Management > Malaria > p. 78
2. [2] Science ,Class VIII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 3: Health: The Ultimate Treasure > Activity 3.4: Let us find out > p. 34
3. [3] Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 12: Animal Diversity of India > 12,7. W ILDLIF E DISEASES > p. 193