LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Cysticercosis: Infections
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Cysticercosis is prevalent, and neurocysticercosis is a major cause of epilepsy in Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe. Infection in the US is most common in immigrants from those areas but has occurred in North Americans who have not traveled abroad; they have apparently been infected through exposure to immigrants harboring adult
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The terms cysticercosis and taeniasis refer to food-borne zoonotic infections with larval and adult tapeworms, respectively. The important features of these zoonoses are that the larvae are meatborne (generally beef or pork) and the adult stage develops only in the intestine of the human host (obligate). Taenia saginata (the beef tapeworm), T. saginata asiatica (Taiwan Taenia) and T. solium (the pork tapeworm) are the most important causes of taeniasis in humans. Cysticercosis is a tissue infection with the larval cysticercus or metacestode stage, and occurs most commonly in pigs and cattle; Taenia saginata occurs only in beef, T. saginata asiatica in pig organs, and T. solium primarily in pork. Humans acquire the adult stage through eating improperly cooked infected meat.
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Financial losses due to porcine cysticercosis have been reported by several studies elsewhere. Annual losses due to porcine cysticercosis have been estimated to 25 million Euros in 2002 in ten Western and Central African countries (Zoli et al 2003), US$5.0 million in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa in 2004 (Carabin et al 2006), US $121 million for 0.2 billion kg of pork meat in China in 2002 (Engels et al 2003), and US$164 million in all Latin America in 1991 (Murrell 1991). Most analyses were based on strong assumptions that may not be realistic and have not been based on data collected in the field. Also, the effects of endemic porcine cysticercosis in terms of productivity losses and control costs should be dealt with at the producer level. The decision in question depends on the relative costs of developing a control strategy as compared to the gains associated with reducing the infection in pigs. Farm management decisions are based on financial criteria: a given control measure is justified if it improves the farmer's profits (Perry and Randolph 1999).
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The Unit of Veterinary Helminthology focuses its research activities on taeniasis/cysticercosis, trichinellosis and nematode control in ruminants. Taeniasis/cysticercosis is a neglected zoonosis that mainly affects poor populations in developing countries. Neurocysticercosis is the main cause of late-onset epilepsy in endemic regions. Trichinellosis is another zoonotic parasite with worldwide distribution. Gastrointestinal nematode infections have a serious impact on productivity of livestock in the tropics and their control is endangered by the global emergence of anthelmintic resistance.
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Taeniasis is an intestinal infection with the adult stage of large tapeworms; cysticercosis is a tissue infection with the larval stage of the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium. Other Taenia species can occasionally cause cysticercosis as well. People get pork tapeworm from eating raw or undercooked infected pork. Infected pork may look “measly” because it has larval cysts in the muscle. The larval cysts develop into adult tapeworms in the person’s intestine and produce a large number of eggs. Eggs are passed in the stool and are then spread through food, water, or surfaces contaminated with feces. People develop cysticercosis by swallowing these eggs.
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Before the development of albendazole, the antiparasitic drug praziquantel (Biltricide) was often used to treat individuals with cysticercosis. Infection with an adult tapeworm can be eliminated using antiparasitic medications such as niclosamide or paronomycin. As described above, care must be taken to avoid the release of large quantities of eggs from the dying tapeworms as this may cause cysticercosis. Seizures sometimes associated with neurocysticercosis may be treated with anti-seziure medications (anticonvulsants) such as phenytoin (Dilantin) or lorazepam (Antivan).
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