Question

Which one of the following is an autoimmune disease?

• A. Tuberculosis
• B. Covid-19
• C. Common cold
• D. Type 1 Diabetes

Hint:

• Autoimmune Disease The immune system fails to distinguish between self and non-self antigens, leading to an attack on the body's own tissues.
• Infectious diseases are caused by pathogens (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites).
• Type 1 Diabetes results from autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

An autoimmune disease is a condition in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks its own healthy cells, tissues, or organs, recognizing them as foreign. Let's analyze the options:
(a) Tuberculosis (TB): An infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It primarily affects the lungs. The immune system fights the bacteria, but it's an infection, not an autoimmune disease.
(b) Covid-19: An infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While severe COVID-19 can involve dysregulated immune responses (e.g., cytokine storm), the disease itself is initiated by a viral infection, not by the immune system attacking self-antigens without an external trigger.
(c) Common cold: A viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract, most commonly caused by rhinoviruses or coronaviruses (other than SARS-CoV-2).
(d) Type 1 Diabetes (mellitus): An autoimmune disease in which the immune system (specifically T cells) attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. This leads to a deficiency of insulin and an inability to regulate blood glucose levels properly.
Therefore, Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease. Other examples of autoimmune diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' disease, and celiac disease. \[ \boxed{\text{Type 1 Diabetes}} \]