• Taenia solium
• Cysticercosis
• Neurocysticercosis
• Point-of-care test
• Prevalence
• Zambia

• Humans
• Zambia/epidemiology
• Neurocysticercosis/epidemiology
• Neurocysticercosis/diagnosis
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Male
• Female
• Prevalence
• Adult
• Adolescent
• Middle Aged
• Animals
• Young Adult
• Child
• Taenia solium/isolation & purification
• Tomography, X-Ray Computed
• Child, Preschool

• DRIA2014-308 European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership
• 01KA1617 German Federal Ministry of Education and Research

• cohort
• corrals
• free roaming
• insects
• porcine cysticercosis
• seroincidence

• R21 AI119439 NIAID NIH HHS
• D43 TW001140 FIC NIH HHS
• R01AI141554 NIH HHS
• NIH R21AI119439 NIH HHS
• R01 AI141554 NIAID NIH HHS

• Animals
• Coleoptera
• Cysticercosis/epidemiology
• Cysts
• Swine
• Swine Diseases/epidemiology
• Taenia solium

• D43 TW001140 FIC NIH HHS
• R01 AI141554 NIAID NIH HHS
• MR/S025049/1 Medical Research Council
• Concytec/FONDECYT
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• Fogarty International Center - US National Institutes of Health

Taeniosis is a neglected disease, particularly in developing countries, and is caused by infection with the adult tapeworm of either Taenia solium, Taenia saginata, and Taenia asiatica. Of these, T. solium is of primary concern due to the potential for cysticercosis should T. solium eggs be ingested. In Cuba, all cases of taeniosis are assumed to be caused by T. saginata, although some cases of cysticercosis have been documented. It is therefore important to gain further insights regarding the species causing taeniosis in Cuba, especially as diagnostic records indicate an increasing incidence, with the highest number of cases reported in 2020. In this study, we analysed 37 Taenia-positive faecal samples (or proglottids isolated from faecal samples) from the period 2001 until 2020 from all regions of the country. Genomic DNA was extracted from the samples, which had been stored in 10% formalin, using the QIAamp Tissue Kit. Species identification was carried out by duplex real-time PCR targeting the mitochondrial DNA. All cases were found to be T. saginata, and sequence analysis of three isolates confirmed the identification of this species. Our data do not provide any evidence that T. solium currently occurs in Cuba. However, given the relatively low number of samples analysed here, that the parasite may be imported with visitors or travellers who have been in endemic countries, and that taeniosis has relatively mild symptoms and thus infected patients may not seek medical attention, we recommend species determination for all taeniosis cases reported in Cuba.

•

The incidence of taeniosis cases in Cuba is rising, with 2020 being a peak year

• Cuba
• Diagnosis
• Epidemiology
• Human infection
• Molecular confirmation
• Taenia
• Taeniosis

• Cysticercosis
• Diagnosis
• Epidemiology and control
• Human taeniasis
• Immunomodulation
• Treatment

• Coproantigen
• Cysticercosis
• Diagnosis
• Polyclonal ELISA
• Taeniosis
• VP-1 monoclonal ELISA

• Adult
• Animals
• Antigens, Helminth/analysis
• Cysticercosis/epidemiology
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/methods
• Feces/parasitology
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Rural Population
• Species Specificity
• Taenia/immunology
• Taenia/isolation & purification
• Taenia solium/immunology
• Taenia solium/isolation & purification
• Taeniasis/diagnosis
• Taeniasis/epidemiology
• Taeniasis/parasitology
• Venezuela/epidemiology
• Young Adult

• China
• Cysticercosis
• Taenia asiatica
• Taenia saginata
• Taenia solium
• Taeniasis

• Adolescent
• Animals
• Child
• Child, Preschool
• China/epidemiology
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Cysticercosis/epidemiology
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Prevalence
• Taenia solium/immunology
• Taeniasis/epidemiology

The tapeworm Taenia solium is the parasite responsible for neurocysticercosis, a neglected tropical disease of public health importance, thought to cause approximately 1/3 of epilepsy cases across endemic regions. The consumption of undercooked infected pork perpetuates the parasite’s life-cycle through the establishment of adult tapeworm infections in the community. Reducing the risk associated with pork consumption in the developing world is therefore a public health priority. The aim of this study was to estimate the risk of any one pork meal in western Kenya containing a potentially infective T. solium cysticercus at the point of consumption, an aspect of the parasite transmission that has not been estimated before. To estimate this, we used a quantitative food chain risk assessment model built in the @RISK add-on to Microsoft Excel. This model indicates that any one pork meal consumed in western Kenya has a 0.006 (99% Uncertainty Interval (U.I). 0.0002–0.0164) probability of containing at least one viable T. solium cysticercus at the point of consumption and therefore being potentially infectious to humans. This equates to 22,282 (99% U.I. 622–64,134) potentially infective pork meals consumed in the course of one year within Busia District alone. This model indicates a high risk of T. solium infection associated with pork consumption in western Kenya and the work presented here can be built upon to investigate the efficacy of various mitigation strategies for this locality.

Taenia solium is a serious zoonotic helminth which is thought to be responsible for approximately 1/3^rd of epilepsy cases in the developing world. The work presented in this paper aimed to understand what the risk is of acquiring T. solium taeniosis from pork slaughtered and consumed in western Kenya. In order to do this we built a stochastic risk assessment model to investigate the safety of pork reaching the consumer in terms of the risk of having viable T. solium cysts in any one portion of meat consumed. We found that pork represents a high risk product in this study area and therefore control strategies are urgently needed to reduce the public health risk posed by this product.

• Animals
• Consumer Product Safety
• Female
• Food Contamination/analysis
• Humans
• Kenya
• Male
• Meat/analysis
• Meat/parasitology
• Models, Statistical
• Swine
• Swine Diseases/parasitology
• Taenia solium/genetics
• Taenia solium/isolation & purification
• Taenia solium/physiology
• Taeniasis/parasitology
• Taeniasis/transmission
• Taeniasis/veterinary
• Zoonoses/parasitology
• Zoonoses/transmission

• 085308 Wellcome Trust
• BB/L019019/1 Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
• Medical Research Council
• Department for International Development
• Economic and Social Research Council
• Natural Environment Research Council
• Defense Science and Technology Laboratory
• CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Taenia solium infection causes severe neurological disease in humans. Even though infection and exposure to swine cysticercosis is scattered throughout endemic villages, location of the tapeworm only explains some of the nearby infections and is not related to location of seropositive pigs. Other players might be involved in cysticercosis transmission. In this study we hypothesize that pigs that carry nematodes specific to dung beetles are associated with cysticercosis infection and/or exposure. We carried out a cross-sectional study of six villages in an endemic region in northern Peru. We euthanized all pigs (326) in the villages and performed necropsies to diagnose cysticercosis. For each pig, we counted cysticerci; measured anti-cysticercus antibodies; identified intestinal nematodes; tabulated distance to nearest human tapeworm infection; and recorded age, sex, productive stage, and geographic reference. For the purpose of this paper, we defined cysticercosis infection as the presence of at least one cysticercus in pig muscles, and cysticercosis exposure as seropositivity to anti-cysticercus antibodies with the presence of 0–5 cysticerci. Compared to pigs without nematode infections, those pigs infected with the nematode Ascarops strongylina were significantly associated with the presence of cysticerci (OR: 4.30, 95%CI: 1.83–10.09). Similarly, pigs infected with the nematode Physocephalus sexalatus were more likely to have cysticercosis exposure (OR: 2.21, 95%CI: 1.50–3.28). In conclusion, our results suggest that there appears to be a strong positive association between the presence of nematodes and both cysticercosis infection and exposure in pigs. The role of dung beetles in cysticercosis dynamics should be further investigated.

In endemic areas, pigs acquire cysticercosis when ingesting Taenia solium eggs that have been released into the environment in the feces of a person infected with T. solium. The present study has found evidence that players, such as dung beetles, might be involved in further dissemination of the parasite into the environment. Specifically, we found an association between helminths, for whom dung beetles act as an intermediate host, and porcine cysticercosis infection and exposure after adjusting for other porcine cysticercosis predictors such as distance to tapeworm carrier and age. Although the study does not evaluate dung beetles directly, parasites specific to dung beetles serve as a novel proxy to evidence the potential role of dung beetles in the epidemiology of cysticercosis. Therefore, it is important that further studies elucidate the role of other players in cysticercosis transmission in order to better explain the reemergence and persistence of cysticercosis after elimination and control efforts. In addition, vector populations could potentially be used as markers for cysticercosis in the communities.

• Animals
• Antibodies, Helminth/blood
• Coleoptera/parasitology
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Cysticercosis/epidemiology
• Cysticercosis/parasitology
• Cysticercosis/transmission
• Cysticercosis/veterinary
• Cysticercus/immunology
• Cysticercus/pathogenicity
• Feces/parasitology
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Muscles
• Peru
• Risk Factors
• Swine
• Swine Diseases/epidemiology
• Swine Diseases/parasitology
• Swine Diseases/transmission
• Taenia solium/immunology
• Taenia solium/pathogenicity
• Taeniasis/epidemiology
• Taeniasis/parasitology

• P01-AI51976 NIAID NIH HHS
• D43 TW008273 FIC NIH HHS
• U01-AI35894 NIAID NIH HHS
• U01 AI035894 NIAID NIH HHS
• P01 AI051976 NIAID NIH HHS
• D43-TW008273 FIC NIH HHS
• Wellcome Trust
• MR/K007467/1 Medical Research Council
• 091077 Wellcome Trust

• Madagascar
• Taenia solium
• control strategy
• cysticercosis
• human cysticercosis
• pig
• rapid diagnostic test

• pig
• gps
• taenia
• trichinella
• african swine fever
• toxoplasma
• trypanosoma
• free range

• Animal Husbandry
• Animals
• Ascariasis/epidemiology
• Ascariasis/veterinary
• Coccidiosis/epidemiology
• Coccidiosis/veterinary
• Cysticercosis/epidemiology
• Cysticercosis/veterinary
• Ecology
• Female
• Geographic Information Systems
• Kenya/epidemiology
• Male
• Spatial Behavior
• Strongylida Infections/epidemiology
• Strongylida Infections/veterinary
• Sus scrofa/parasitology
• Sus scrofa/psychology
• Swine
• Swine Diseases/epidemiology
• Swine Diseases/parasitology

• 085308 Wellcome Trust
• 095831 Wellcome Trust
• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Three species of tapeworms infect humans in their adult stage (Taenia solium, Taenia saginata and Taenia asiatica). The 3 are flat, opaque white or yellowish, and exceptional long segmented parasites, measuring 1 to 12 m in their adult stage. In this review, the development of the knowledge regarding the first species, mainly focused on understanding how the larval stage or cysticercus is transmitted to humans, is described. The second species is a cosmopolitan parasite that only causes taeniosis and not cysticercosis; therefore, it will not be included. Information on the third species, which is presently being produced, since this species was recognized as such only at the end of the 20th century, will be discussed at the end of this review.

• Taenia asiatica
• Taenia saginata
• Taenia solium
• control measure
• cysticercosis
• epidemiology
• life cycle
• parasite

• Taenia asiatica
• Taenia saginata
• Taenia solium
• prevalence
• taeniasis

Neurocysticercosis is a leading cause of preventable epilepsy in the developing world. Sustainable community-based interventions are urgently needed to control transmission of the causative parasite, Taenia solium. We examined the geospatial relationship between live pigs with visible cysticercotic cysts on their tongues and humans with adult intestinal tapeworm infection (taeniasis) in a rural village in northern Peru. The objective was to determine whether tongue-positive pigs could indicate high-risk geographic foci for taeniasis to guide targeted screening efforts. This approach could offer significant benefit compared to mass intervention.

We recorded geographic coordinates of all village houses, collected stool samples from all consenting villagers, and collected blood and examined tongues of all village pigs. Stool samples were processed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for presence of Taenia sp. coproantigens indicative of active taeniasis; serum was processed by enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot for antibodies against T. solium cysticercosis (EITB LLGP) and T. solium taeniasis (EITB rES33).

Of 548 pigs, 256 (46.7%) were positive for antibodies against cysticercosis on EITB LLGP. Of 402 fecal samples, 6 (1.5%) were positive for the presence of Taenia sp. coproantigens. The proportion of coproantigen-positive individuals differed significantly between residents living within 100-meters of a tongue-positive pig (4/79, 5.1%) and residents living >100 meters from a tongue-positive pig (2/323, 0.6%) (p = 0.02). The prevalence of taeniasis was >8 times higher among residents living within 100 meters of a tongue-positive pig compared to residents living outside this range (adjusted PR 8.1, 95% CI 1.4–47.0).

Tongue-positive pigs in endemic communities can indicate geospatial foci in which the risk for taeniasis is increased. Targeted screening or presumptive treatment for taeniasis within these high-risk foci may be an effective and practical control intervention for rural endemic areas.

Taenia solium, aka the pork tapeworm, is an important cause of epilepsy in developing nations. People with intestinal tapeworms, a condition known as taeniasis, pass infectious eggs in their feces which contaminate the environment. These eggs can cause serious disease in both humans and pigs if they are ingested. Treating taeniasis is one way to potentially control transmission of the parasite in affected communities. However, this is difficult because people with taeniasis usually have no symptoms and therefore don't know they are infected. As a result, control programs may resort to offering treatment to entire communities in order to reach a few tapeworm carriers. Focusing detection and treatment on high-risk subgroups is another approach which might reduce unnecessary treatments. In this study, we found that people with taeniasis are more likely to be found living nearby pigs with visible signs of infection, specifically tapeworm cysts on their tongues. This suggests that routine tongue examination by pig owners and buyers could identify neighborhoods where detection and treatment of taeniasis may be more efficient.

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Animals
• Antibodies, Helminth/blood
• Cestode Infections/epidemiology
• Cestode Infections/veterinary
• Child
• Child, Preschool
• Feces/parasitology
• Female
• Humans
• Infant
• Infant, Newborn
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Peru/epidemiology
• Rural Population
• Swine
• Swine Diseases/epidemiology
• Swine Diseases/parasitology
• Taenia solium/isolation & purification
• Tongue/pathology
• Topography, Medical
• Young Adult

• UL1 TR000128 NCATS NIH HHS
• 5KL2 RR024141-04 NCRR NIH HHS
• TW001140 FIC NIH HHS
• D43 TW001140 FIC NIH HHS
• U01 AI035894 NIAID NIH HHS
• KL2 RR024141 NCRR NIH HHS
• 091077 Wellcome Trust
• U01AI35894 NIAID NIH HHS
• MR/K007467/1 Medical Research Council

Infection with tapeworms is a major problem in many parts of the world. Patients may be asymptomatic or have a significant morbidity depending on the species. Infection with Taenia species is sometimes found by expulsion of eggs or proglottids in stool. Species specific diagnosis of Taenia is difficult, but possible. We present a case of Taenia saginata incidentally discovered, and risk factors for transmission, diagnosis, symptoms, and treatment.

• Taenia saginata
• colonoscopy
• Tapeworm

• Animals
• Colon/parasitology
• Colonoscopy
• Humans
• Incidental Findings
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Taenia saginata/isolation & purification
• Taeniasis/diagnosis
• Taeniasis/parasitology
• Taeniasis/therapy
• Taeniasis/transmission

• Animals
• Cricetinae
• Digestion/physiology
• Mesocricetus/parasitology
• Mesocricetus/physiology
• Postmortem Changes
• Taenia solium/isolation & purification
• Taenia solium/physiology
• Taeniasis/diagnosis
• Taeniasis/parasitology

• Animals
• Cysticercosis/parasitology
• Cysticercosis/prevention & control
• Cysticercosis/transmission
• Cysticercosis/veterinary
• Swine
• Swine Diseases/immunology
• Swine Diseases/parasitology
• Swine Diseases/prevention & control
• Swine Diseases/transmission
• Taenia solium/immunology
• Vaccination/economics
• Vaccination/methods
• Vaccination/veterinary
• Vaccines, Subunit/economics
• Vaccines, Subunit/immunology
• Vaccines, Subunit/therapeutic use
• Vaccines, Synthetic/economics
• Vaccines, Synthetic/immunology
• Vaccines, Synthetic/therapeutic use