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50 - Cysticercosis

from Section 8 - Helminth infections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2013

David Mabey
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Geoffrey Gill
Affiliation:
University of Liverpool
Eldryd Parry
Affiliation:
Tropical Health Education Trust
Martin W. Weber
Affiliation:
World Health Organization, Jakarta
Christopher J. M. Whitty
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
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Summary

Cysticercosis is not acquired through contact with pigs, nor, specifically, by eating pork. The diagnosis relies either on histology, sophisticated imaging or an immunological test – none of which is widely available in Africa. As a result, cysticercosis is not a diagnosis that is commonly made.

Life cycle

Cysticercosis is the disease caused by the ingestion of the eggs of the pig tapeworm, Taenia solium, not by eating ‘measly’ pork. Humans who eat ‘measly’ pork acquire a tape worm. People with T. solium excrete eggs in their faeces and it is ingestion of these eggs that produce cysticercosis. It is not uncommon for patients with T. solium to auto-infect – in other words, to ingest eggs shed by their own tapeworm. Once ingested, the eggs hatch in the stomach and the larvae burrow through the wall of the intestine and migrate around the body, with a particular predilection for skeletal muscle and the brain. Larvae in the brain are the cause of neurocysticercosis (NCC).

The problem in Africa

There are very few data about the prevalence of cysticercosis in Africa. Most of the published data come from the Peruvian Cysticercosis Working Group, based in Lima, whose work suggest that as much as 40 percent of adult-onset epilepsy is secondary to neurocysticercosis (Garcia et al., 2003).

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2013

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References

Carabin, H, Millogo, A, Praet, N et al. (2009). Seroprevalence to the antigens of Taenia solium cysticercosis among the residents of three villages in Burkina Faso: a cross-sectional study. PLoS Negl Trop Dis; 3: e555.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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Jimba, M, Joshi, DD, Joshi, AB, Wakai, S (2003). Health promotion approach for control of Taenia solium infection in Nepal. Lancet; 362: 1420.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Katabarwa, M, Lakwo, T, Habumogisha, P et al. (2008). Short report: could neurocysticercosis be the cause of ‘onchocerciasis-associated’ epileptic seizures?Am J Trop Med Hyg; 78: 400–1.Google Scholar
Mafojane, NA, Appleton, CC, Krecek, RC et al. (2003). The current status of neurocysticercosis in eastern and southern Africa. Acta Trop; 87: 25–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ndimubanzi, PC, Carabin, H, Budke, CM (2010). A systematic review of the frequency of neurocysticercosis with a focus on people with epilepsy. PLoS Negl Trop Dis; 4: e870.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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