Argument Breakdown:- Premise 1: Ten years ago, about 700 skin pigmentation patients received treatment at JKF Hospital.
- Premise 2: This year, the number of patients receiving treatment is 500.
- Premise 3: The overall population of the town has doubled in the last decade.
- Conclusion: The cases of skin pigmentation are on a sharp decline.
To weaken the argument we need to show that the cases of skim pigmentation actually increases or did not decline. (A) JKF is the only hospital where skin pigmentation is treated.This choice supports the assumption that the decline in patient numbers at JKF directly reflects a decline in skin pigmentation cases. This strengthens rather than weakens the argument.
(B) Skin pigmentation patients are generally aware of their disease and seek immediate treatment.This doesn't significantly affect the argument. It suggests that people with the condition are likely to seek treatment, but it doesn't address the decline in cases.
(C) Five years ago it was concluded that most cases of skin pigmentation were caused as an effect of acute allergy; thereafter medical practitioners have started counting such cases under the category of acute allergy.This choice weakens the argument significantly. If many cases previously categorized as skin pigmentation are now counted under a different category (acute allergy), the apparent decline in skin pigmentation cases could be due to a change in categorization rather than an actual decrease in cases.
(D) The number compared are numbers of patients who visited the doctor for their first consultation and may not necessarily reflect the number of patients who finished the treatment at JKF Hospital.This suggests that the numbers might not represent the total number of patients with skin pigmentation, but it doesn't directly weaken the conclusion about the decline in cases. This information introduces some doubt about the reliability of the compared numbers. If we're only counting initial consultations, it's possible that more patients continued treatment outside the hospital, or some might have dropped out. However, this does not directly address whether the overall number of people with skin pigmentation has declined. The argument’s conclusion is about the decline in the
number of skin pigmentation cases, not about the number of patients who complete treatment. It suggests that the treatment figures might be incomplete, it doesn’t offer an alternative explanation that would show the number of cases hasn’t decreased.
(E) Many over-the-counter medicines effectively treating skin pigmentation are not easily available on the market.This doesn't directly weaken the argument about the decline in cases; it discusses the availability of treatments rather than the number of cases.
The answer that most seriously weakens the argument is
(C). This choice introduces an alternative explanation for the apparent decline in skin pigmentation cases, suggesting that the decline may be due to reclassification rather than an actual reduction in the number of cases.