ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD) · India · NTA for ICAR
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersThe laboratory and field methods that find parasites in faeces, blood and skin, the immune response to parasites, parasitic zoonoses and integrated control. Advanced and postgraduate level.
In the exams: ICAR AICE-JRF subject paper (Parasitology); ICAR AIEEA-PG 13
ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD) — core group 06 (Parasitology)
Immune mechanisms against helminths and protozoa (Th2 cytokines, IgE, self-cure, premunition, VSG switching), vaccine history and antigen strategies (irradiated lungworm vaccine, Theileria cell-culture vaccine, Bm86, 45W, EG95, hidden gut antigens), molecular basis of benzimidazole resistance, FECRT design and immunodiagnostic test formats.
How our questions for ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF spread across the units of Clinical, Diagnostic & Immuno-Parasitology. Difficulty: 0 easy, 26 medium, 13 hard.
| Immunoparasitology | 8 | |
| Integrated parasite control | 8 | |
| Serodiagnosis of parasitic infections | 7 | |
| Faecal egg counting: the McMaster method | 4 | |
| Anti-parasitic vaccines | 4 | |
| Sedimentation and flotation techniques | 3 | |
| Blood smear examination | 2 | |
| Parasitic zoonoses | 2 | |
| Skin scrapings | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
A dog's flotation shows lemon-shaped eggs with a plug at each end. Which genus is most likely?
C. Trichuris
Bipolar plugs on a barrel- or lemon-shaped egg are typical of Trichuris (whipworm). Toxocara eggs are round with a pitted shell, Dipylidium eggs come in packets, and Strongyloides eggs are small and larvated.
Further reading: Zajac et al., Veterinary Clinical Parasitology (9th ed.)
Why is 10% potassium hydroxide sometimes used instead of mineral oil when examining skin scrapings?
A. It clears keratin and hair
KOH digests keratin and clears heavy debris, making mites easier to see, at the cost of losing motility. Mineral oil keeps mites alive. KOH does not stain eggs, and there is no legal requirement. The drawback is that KOH kills the mites.
Further reading: Zajac et al., Veterinary Clinical Parasitology (9th ed.)
In the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), what is bound to the slide before the test serum is added?
A. Fixed whole parasites used as the antigen
IFAT uses fixed parasites on wells of a slide; serial dilutions of serum are added and bound antibody is revealed with a fluorescent anti-species conjugate, giving a titre.
Further reading: Tizard, Veterinary Immunology (10th ed.)
Why does freezing not reliably make game meat safe from Trichinella?
B. Certain sylvatic Trichinella species, such as T. nativa, resist freezing
Freeze-resistant species occur in wildlife, especially in cold regions, so thorough cooking is the safe advice for game. Trichinella larvae encyst in muscle, and there is no egg stage.
Further reading: Taylor, Coop & Wall, Veterinary Parasitology (4th ed.)
Using the pre- and post-treatment counts of the same animals, a group's mean falls from 1,000 EPG to 40 EPG. What is the faecal egg count reduction?
A. 96%
FECR = 100 × (1 − T2 ÷ T1) = 100 × (1 − 40 ÷ 1,000) = 96%. 4% is the proportion remaining; 2,400% divides the drop by the post-treatment count ((1,000 − 40) ÷ 40); 99.6% misreads 1,000 as 10,000.
Further reading: WAAVP guidelines (Coles et al. 1992, 2006; Kaplan et al. 2023)
Under the 1992 WAAVP criteria, a FECRT gives a reduction of 96% with a lower 95% confidence limit of 88%. How is the result classified?
C. Resistance suspected, because only one of the two criteria is met
In 1992 resistance required both a reduction below 95% and a lower confidence limit below 90%; when only one criterion is met, resistance is suspected. The 2023 WAAVP guideline replaces these with host- and drug-specific thresholds.
Further reading: WAAVP guidelines (Coles et al. 1992, 2006; Kaplan et al. 2023)
Duddingtonia flagrans is used in integrated nematode control because it:
B. Traps developing larvae in dung after its spores pass through the gut
D. flagrans is a nematophagous fungus; its spores survive gut passage and form traps in faeces that capture free-living larvae, reducing pasture contamination. It does not act on worms inside the host.
Further reading: Taylor, Coop & Wall, Veterinary Parasitology (4th ed.)
In a controlled efficacy test, mean worm counts are 2,400 in untreated controls and 300 in treated lambs. The efficacy is:
D. 87.5%
Efficacy = 100 × (control − treated) ÷ control = 100 × 2,100 ÷ 2,400 = 87.5%. 12.5% is the proportion surviving; 8.0 is the ratio 2,400 ÷ 300; 700% divides the difference by the treated count instead of the control.
Further reading: WAAVP guidelines (Coles et al. 1992, 2006; Kaplan et al. 2023)
Why is larval culture performed alongside a FECRT?
A. To identify which nematode genera survive treatment
Resistance is often genus-specific (for example Haemonchus surviving while Trichostrongylus is removed); the pooled reduction can hide this. Culture to L3 shows which genera remain.
Further reading: WAAVP guidelines (Coles et al. 1992, 2006; Kaplan et al. 2023)
Which statement about Toxocara canis transmission to puppies explains why puppies can show disease before eggs appear in their faeces?
B. Larvae reactivated in the pregnant bitch cross the placenta and reach the milk
Somatic larvae arrested in the bitch reactivate in late pregnancy, infecting puppies transplacentally and through milk, so puppies may have heavy intestinal burdens before patency. This is why deworming starts early.
Further reading: Taylor, Coop & Wall, Veterinary Parasitology (4th ed.)
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