Status of Taenia solium cysticercosis and predisposing factors in developing countries involved in pig farming

Review Article

International Journal of One Health, 1: 6-13

https://doi.org/10.14202/IJOH.2015.6-13

Joseph M. Kungu^1,2,3, Michel M. Dione⁴, Michael Ocaido³, and Francis Ejobi¹

1. Department of Biosecurity, Ecosystems and Veterinary Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
2. Animal Health Program, National Livestock Resources Research Institute, P.O.Box 96, Tororo, Uganda.
3. Department of Wildlife Animal Resources Management, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
4. International Livestock Research Institute, P.O.Box 24384, Kampala, Uganda.

Background and Aim: Taenia solium cysticercosis is a disease of pigs and humans populations considered endemic in many developing countries of Latin America, Africa, and South East Asia having serious impact on public health and agriculture. We conducted an in-depth comparative analysis of literature on the disease situation and predisposing factors in selected countries known to be at the interface of poverty-emerging livestock systems-zoonoses and with a growing small holder pig industry. Transmission, methods of diagnosis and employed control strategies of T. solium infection in pig and human populations in these countries are also discussed. Limited knowledge on porcine cysticercosis (PC) by various stakeholders expected to be key players in its control has undermined efforts for eliminating this potentially eradicable condition. Poor pig production practices, poor hygiene, and sanitation habits have also been important in the maintenance of the T. solium life-cycle. The major gaps identified in this review include scanty current information on PC prevalence in pigs with hardly any reports on the condition in humans in most developing countries. Factors affecting pattern of the infection and how they interact at the different levels of the pig value chain have not been exhaustively studied. Information on socioeconomic and public health impact is inadequate and not current.

Keywords: cysticercosis, developing countries, eradication, risk factors, Taenia solium.

How to cite this article: Kungu JM, Dione MM, Ejobi F, Ocaido M. Status of Taenia solium cysticercosis and predisposing factors in developing countries involved in pig farming. Int J One Health 2015;1:6-13.

Received: 21-12-2014 Accepted: 08-04-2015 Published online: 01-05-2015

Corresponding author: Joseph M. Kungu E-mail: kungu@live.com

DOI: 10.14202/IJOH.2015.6-13

Copyright: Kungu, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.