Search

BACKGROUND Taeniasis is a helminthic infection caused by the Taenia species, specifically T. solium, T. saginata, and T. asiatica. Generally, the parasites infect the small intestine; however, instances of atypical migration have also been reported. CASE REPORT A 47-year-old Thai woman presented to Nan Hospital with epigastric pain, nausea, and vomiting. Physical examination revealed tenderness in the right upper quadrant, and laboratory analysis revealed mild direct hyperbilirubinemia. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed multiple gallstones and acute cholecystitis. During an elective cholecystectomy, a 70-cm-long tapeworm was found in the gallbladder. Histological examination confirmed the presence of parasitic infection suggestive of Taenia spp., with acute inflammation and focal mucosal necrosis of the gallbladder. Microscopic examination revealed 20 to 22 uterine branches in each of the 5 gravid proglottids, with 42 to 55 uterine twigs and an average ratio of uterine twigs to branches of 2.41, confirming that the parasite in question was possible for T. saginata or T. asiatica. The patient's symptoms resolved after surgery. She was prescribed an oral antibiotic and antiparasitic drug after the operation and experienced no post-surgical complications. CONCLUSIONS Certain parasitic worms can migrate from the intestine to the biliary system. Although less common, T. solium, T. saginata, and T. asiatica can also be detected in the gallbladder and cause acute cholecystitis. This case stresses the potential for misdiagnosis in imaging studies and advises clinicians in endemic areas to consider Taenia spp. infections in the biliary system.

Background: Cattle and buffaloes can contract cysticercosis, an infection of the muscles brought on by Taenia saginata larvae. Despite having a global spread, cysticercosis is more prevalent in impoverished nations due to impaired hygiene standards. It has been discovered that Taenia saginata cysticercosis routine visual diagnosis is not very effective, especially in mild infections. Therefore, a more trustworthy in vivo test might be used as an alternative in slaughterhouses and epidemiological studies. Biochemical assays are possibly utilized as an alternative to detect cysticercosis inside a topical environment., Aim: Investigating serum biochemical alterations in cattle with cysticercosis was the goal of the current research. As a further method of diagnosis, it was also determined how Cysticercus bovis affected pro-inflammatory cytokines and histopathology., Methods: Blood samples from 42 slaughtered cattle (21 healthy and 21 sick animals) were taken from Assiut abattoir. Using an ELISA and spectrophotometer, respectively, their serum's pro-inflammatory cytokines and biochemical profile were evaluated. These cattle were chosen between March 2023 and February 2024., Results: A percentage of 4.6% of the 455 cattle examined after being slaughtered had T. saginata cysticerci infections. All values in the serum biochemistry were considerably different ( p < 0.01), whereas the majority of biochemical parameters increased significantly ( p < 0.01) in infected animals. In contrast, there was a substantial ( p < 0.01) decline in HDL-c, SOD, CAT, and GSH. On the other hand, procytokine inflammatory indices for both TNF-α and IL-1β indicated a substantial increase ( p < 0.01) in infected cattle. Additionally, the histological results revealed significant alterations in the tissues of infected livestock., Conclusion: This has been inferred cysticercosis possesses negative impacts on cattle's plasma biochemical profiles, indicating the field applicability of biochemical measures in outbreaks of bovine cysticercosis. Pro-inflammatory cytokine indices and histological changes could be included as further indicators of T. saginata cysticercosis in cattle., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Biliary taeniasis is uncommon in clinical practice. We report two cases in our hospital. The first patient was diagnosed with acute biliary pancreatitis. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) showed a white, flat, segmented 1-cm-wide tapeworm drilling into the duodenal papilla that was identified as Taenia saginata. After tapeworm removal, bile duct sweeping, and anthelmintic therapy, the patient recovered uneventfully. The second patient was diagnosed with acute cholangitis and multiple stones in the common bile duct and gallbladder. Emergency ERCP showed no tapeworm in the duodenum. During a subsequent ERCP 6 days later, a flat tapeworm, also T. saginata, was identified drilling into the duodenal papilla. We review five patients cases with acute acalculous cholecystitis or cholangitis caused by T. saginata or Taenia solium, and 1 patient with T. saginata drilling into the T-tube. Taeniasis should be taken into consideration when dealing with biliary and pancreatic disease.

Teniarynchosis (taeniasis) is a helminthiasis with chronic course, predominant lesion of the upper gastrointestinal tract and active release of segments. The causative agent of taeniasis is Taenia saginata. This disease is widespread, although endemic countries are Africa, Australia, South America and Asia. Cases of teniarynchosis are rare in surgical practice. We present a patient who admitted with blunt abdominal injury and isolated wound of small. After laparotomy, we found alive bovine tapeworm that entered into abdominal cavity through the wound in small intestine. The parasite was removed with subsequent intestinal wall repair. The patient was discharged. Thus, teniarynchosis can cause urgent surgical diseases or their complications, especially in endemic areas.

Human infection with Taenia asiatica or a hybrid between Taenia saginata and T. asiatica has not been reported in Cambodia. We detected for the first time a hybrid form between T. saginata and T. asiatica in Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia. An adult tapeworm specimen, i.e., 75 cm long strobila without scolex, was expelled from a 27-year-old man after praziquantel medication and purging. It was morphologically indistinguishable between T. saginata and T. asiatica. Several proglottids were molecularly analyzed to confirm the tapeworm species. The mitochondrial gene encoding cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and nuclear genes encoding elongation factor-1α (ef1) and ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM)-like protein (elp) were sequenced, and a single-allele analysis was performed to confirm the haploid genotype. The results revealed that our sample showed a discrepancy between the mitochondrial and 2 nuclear genes. It possessed homozygous sequences typical of T. saginata at cox1 and ef1 loci. However, it was heterozygous at the elp locus, with 1 allele in T. asiatica (elpA) and 1 in T. saginata (elpC), which indicates that it is a hybrid between T. saginata and T. asiatica. The present results confirmed the presence of a hybrid between T. saginata and T. asiatica in Cambodia and strongly suggest the existence of also 'pure' T. asiatica in Cambodia.

Taenia saginata and Taenia solium , known as beef and pork tapeworm, are foodborne pathogens of global importance having a substantial impact on human health and economy. The study aimed to summarize the occurrence of human Taenia spp. infection in past 10 years in Slovakia based on reports of clinicians and diagnostic laboratories to Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic. Altogether, 19 human cases were reported in Slovakia in 2010-2019, with the incidence of infection ranging from 0.00 to 0.12/100,000 inhabitants per year. In two patients T. saginata infection was confirmed molecularly. Nucleotide sequences of the analyzed nad1 gene fragments derived from both patients were identical and in a phylogenetic tree clustered together with T. saginata Tsa isolate (AM503345), as well as with a homologous sequence of the completely sequenced mitochondrial genome of T. saginata . Similarly, cox1 nucleotide sequences derived from one of the patients and isolates from Asia and/or Europe were identical. A cluster for cox1 partial gene sequence was placed separately from closely related Taenia asiatica and/or T. solium isolates in the phylogenetic tree.

Background: Taeniasis, caused by two major Taenia species, T. solium and T. saginata, is a worldwide foodborne zoonotic disease. T. solium is found in people who habitually eat raw or undercooked pork, while T. saginata is found in people who habitually eat raw or undercooked beef. Cattle rearing and beef consumption is an important socio-cultural feature in the Kashmir valley, India. This study's objectives were to evaluate the prevalence of foodborne taeniasis in Kashmir and explore the various risk factors for its transmission., Methods and Materials: A detailed survey of the population in selected rural and semi-urban sites of Kashmir valley was carried out based on previous information. A total of 12,404 subjects (males=6364; females=6040) ranging from one to 85 years of age (mean age: 28.96±17.68) were included in this study. The parasite diagnosis was made through stool analysis (egg morphology) and anatomical characteristics of gravid proglottids obtained from infected cases. The data obtained were compiled for the parameters studied and statistically analyzed., Results: The observations as estimated coprologically and based on gravid proglottids' anatomy revealed the presence of T. saginata infection. The prevalence was 2.74% with males significantly (p<0.01) more infected (3.40%) than females (2.05%). Similarly, the age group of >60 years showed greater prevalence (7.21% among males and 2.68% among females) at a significance value of p<0.05. Rural populatios were slightly more infected (2.84%) than semi-urban populations (2.36%) with a statistically significant difference (p<0.01)., Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the Kashmiri population who consume raw or undercooked beef, harbor T. saginata infection; its prevalence was influenced by food eating habits, age, sex, and living conditions., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Taenia saginata is an important zoonotic parasite, causing taeniosis in humans and cysticercosis in bovines, the latter being a significant concern for the global beef industry. Many countries in East, Southeast and South Asia are experiencing rapid economic growth, and an increasing number of people in these countries are dependent on the livestock industry. Currently, however, an overview of the prevalence of T. saginata in this region is lacking. In this review, we analysed the available literature on T. saginata taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis for East, Southeast and South Asia., Methods: A systematic review was conducted, based on both published and grey literature. Articles published between 1990 and 2017 were mined for information on the occurrence, prevalence, and geographical distribution of T. saginata taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis in East, Southeast and South Asia., Results: The presence of T. saginata was described in 15 of 27 countries of the region, including Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The only country that reported an absence of T. saginata is Japan, although sporadic reports of imported cases and unconfirmed reports of autochthonous infections were identified. Nationwide surveys of taeniosis with systematic sample collection and high sample numbers were available for Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, and South Korea, although speciation of Taenia was not always performed. Regional prevalence of taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis in endemic regions ranged between 0.02-42.6%, and 0.76-46.7%, respectively. However, data for bovine cysticercosis were only available for five countries (Japan, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Pakistan and Vietnam)., Conclusions: The data indicate a widespread occurrence of T. saginata throughout East, Southeast and South Asia. Identification of Taenia spp. in human infections was frequently not performed, leading to gaps in knowledge about the distribution of human tapeworm infections, mainly in regions where different human Taenia species co-occur. A high prevalence of T. saginata taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis may reflect insufficiencies in sanitation, limited health education standards, and insufficient food safety measures. Therefore, there is a need to improve local surveillance, notification, and overall control systems.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of intestinal parasites in patients admitted to our hospital with gastrointestinal complaints in our city harboring sociocultural and economic changes, and to show the relationship between these parasites and variables such as age, sex and year., Methods: The distribution of intestinal parasites in patients who suffered from gastrointestinal symptoms and were referred to our microbiology/parasitology laboratory from various clinics of the Sivas Cumhuriyet University Training and Research Hospital between January 2006 and December 2018 was determined. After macroscopic examination, 19,760 stool specimens were examined with Nativ-lugol, if necessary, flotation, sedimentation, trichrome and modified acid-fast, Certest Combo Card test Crypto + Giardia + Entamoeba (CerTest Biotec S.L., SPAIN) methods and 5,814 cellophane tape samples were examined with direct microscopy and the results were evaluated retrospectively., Results: Three protozoa and six helminth species were identified in the samples studied. The most frequent parasite was found to be Giardia intestinalis (6.9% n=1.363) from protozoa and Enterobius vermicularis (10.8% n=627) from helminths. Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (1.5% n=289), Cryptosporidium parvum (0.3% n=53), Ascaris lumbricoides (0.2% n=41), Trichuris trichiura (0.1% n=23), Hymenolepis nana (0.1% n=21), Taenia saginata (2.1% n=299) and Dicrocoelium dendriticum (0.01% n=1) were among other intestinal parasites., Conclusion: Between 2006-2018, while decreases in soil-borne parasitoses were observed, there was no statistically significant decrease in annual positive case rates. Despite the development of the infrastructure, parasitoses transmitted by lack of sanitation/cleaning, are still important in our province.

Background: Taenia saginata taeniosis/cysticercosis has been well studied in several countries. Brazil is one of the most important beef exporting countries and has one of the highest cattle population size in the world. In this country, bovine cysticercosis (BCC) remains the most frequent reported zoonosis detected during post-mortem inspection, resulting in costs for the beef sector and public health. We performed a systematic literature review regarding data about BCC epidemiology in Brazil and meta-analyses for its prevalence in different administrative regions and the distribution over time, and based on this discussed possible control strategies., Methods: A systematic review was conducted to obtain data about BCC in Brazil using the words "bovine cysticercosis" and "Brazil" to construct the search phrase. The inclusion criteria used to select articles were: (i) published from 2000 to 2018; (ii) full text available online in Portuguese or English; and (iii) contain information at least regarding one of the following aspects of BCC in Brazil: prevalence, incidence, spatial distribution, risk-factors, economic burden and measures for control., Results: A set of 42 articles was included, covering the prevalence of BCC in Brazil, ranging between 0.01-18.75%. Prevalence results of 40 articles were included in a meta-analysis per administrative region. The highest prevalence was found in the South (3.4%; 95% CI: 2.0-5.2%), followed by the Southeast (2.7%; 95% CI: 1.9-3.6%), Northeast (1.5%; 95% CI: 0.6-2.7%), Central-western (0.9%; 95% CI: 0.3-1.7%) and North (0.0%; 95% CI: 0.0-0.6%) region. In addition, a reduction in prevalence over time was observed in all the evaluated states except for Alagoas and Pará., Conclusions: Besides the large availability of data, a critical lack of information about BCC epidemiology remains in Brazil. Nevertheless, the available data on prevalence, high risk-areas and risk factors should contribute to a better understanding of transmission and the formulation of recommendations for control. A One Health approach will be required to reduce T. saginata taeniosis/cysticercosis prevalence and the consequent economic burden for the beef sector in Brazil, one of the most important beef exporters in the world.

There is a plethora of meat-borne hazards - including parasites - for which there may be a need for surveillance. However, veterinary services worldwide need to decide how to use their scarce resources and prioritise among the perceived hazards. Moreover, to remain competitive, food business operators - irrespective of whether they are farmers or abattoir operators - are preoccupied with maintaining a profit and minimizing costs. Still, customers and trade partners expect that meat products placed on the market are safe to consume and should not bear any risks of causing disease. Risk-based surveillance systems may offer a solution to this challenge by applying risk analysis principles; first to set priorities, and secondly to allocate resources effectively and efficiently. The latter is done through a focus on the cost-effectiveness ratio in sampling and prioritisation. Risk-based surveillance was originally introduced into veterinary public health in 2006. Since then, experience has been gathered, and the methodology has been further developed. Guidelines and tools have been developed, which can be used to set up appropriate surveillance programmes. In this paper, the basic principles are described, and by use of a surveillance design tool called SURVTOOLS (https://survtools.org/), examples are given covering three meat-borne parasites for which risk-based surveillance is 1) either in place in the European Union (EU) (Trichinella spp.), 2) to be officially implemented in December 2019 (Taenia saginata) or 3) only carried out by one abattoir company in the EU as there is no official EU requirement (Toxoplasma gondii). Moreover, advantages, requirements and limitations of risk-based surveillance for meat-borne parasites are discussed., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

From October 2015 to August 2018, tapeworm proglottids were obtained from 10 patients who were residents of Daegu and Gyeongbuk provinces and had a history of raw beef consumption. Most of them had no overseas travel experience. The gravid proglottids obtained from the 10 cases had 15-20 lateral uterine branches. A part of internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) DNA of the 10 cases, amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and digested with AleI restriction enzyme, produced the same band pattern of Taenia saginata, which differentiated from T. asiatica and T. solium. Sequences of ITS1 and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) showed higher homology to T. saginata than to T. asiatica and T. solium. Collectively, these 10 cases were identified as T. saginata human infections. As taeniasis is one of the important parasitic diseases in humans, it is necessary to maintain hygienic conditions during livestock farming to avoid public health concerns.

BackgroundFew case reports on human infections with the beef tapeworm Taenia saginata and the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium , diagnosed in Belgium have been published, yet the grey literature suggests a higher number of cases.AimTo identify and describe cases of taeniasis and cysticercosis diagnosed at two Belgian referral medical institutions from 1990 to 2015.MethodsIn this observational study we retrospectively gathered data on taeniasis and cysticercosis cases by screening laboratory, medical record databases as well a uniform hospital discharge dataset.ResultsA total of 221 confirmed taeniasis cases were identified. All cases for whom the causative species could be determined (170/221, 76.9%) were found to be T. saginata infections. Of those with available information, 40.0% were asymptomatic (26/65), 15.4% reported diarrhoea (10/65), 9.2% reported anal discomfort (6/65) and 15.7% acquired the infection in Belgium (11/70). Five definitive and six probable cases of neurocysticercosis (NCC), and two cases of non-central nervous system cysticercosis (non-CNS CC) were identified. Common symptoms and signs in five of the definitive and probable NCC cases were epilepsy, headaches and/or other neurological disorders. Travel information was available for 10 of the 13 NCC and non-CNS CC cases; two were Belgians travelling to and eight were immigrants or visitors travelling from endemic areas.ConclusionsThe current study indicates that a non-negligible number of taeniasis cases visit Belgian medical facilities, and that cysticercosis is occasionally diagnosed in international travellers.

Background: The zoonotic tapeworm Taenia saginata, although causing only minor discomfort in humans, is responsible for considerable economic losses in the livestock sector due to condemnation or downgrading of infected beef carcasses. An overview of current knowledge on the distribution and prevalence of this parasite in West and Central Africa is lacking., Methods: We conducted a systematic review, collecting information on published and grey literature about T. saginata taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis from 27 countries/territories in West and Central Africa, published between January 1st, 1990 and December 31st, 2017., Results: The literature search retrieved 1672 records, of which 51 and 45 were retained for a qualitative and quantitative synthesis, respectively. Non-specified human taeniosis cases were described for Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic Congo, Guinea, and Ivory Coast (seven out of 27 countries/territories), while T. saginata taeniosis specifically was only reported for Cameroon. Most prevalence estimates for taeniosis ranged between 0-11%, while three studies from Nigeria reported prevalence estimates ranging between 23-50%. None of the studies included molecular confirmation of the causative species. The presence of bovine cysticercosis was reported for Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tristan da Cunha (14 out of 27 countries/territories). Prevalence estimates ranged between 0-29%., Conclusions: Our systematic review has revealed that human taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis are seriously understudied in West and Central Africa. The high prevalence estimates of both conditions suggest an active dissemination of this parasite in the region, calling for a concerted One Health action from public health, veterinary health and food surveillance sectors.

In recent years, the taeniasis has been rarely reported in the Republic of Korea (Korea). But in this study, we intend to report 4 taeniasis cases caused by Taenia saginata during a 5-month period (February to June 2018) at a unversity hospital in Gwangju, Korea. Worm samples (proglottids) discharged from all cases were identified by phenotypic and molecular diagnostics. Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences showed 99.4-99.9% identity with T. saginata but, differed by 4% from T. asiatica and by 7% from T. multiceps, respectively. We found that tapeworms in 2 cases (Cases 2 and 3) yielded exactly the same sequences between them, which differed from those in Cases 1 and 4, suggesting intra-species variation in tapeworms. These taeniasis cases by T. saginata infection in this study, which occurred within a limited time period and region, suggest the possibility of a mini-outbreak. This study highlights the need for further epidemiological investigation of potentially overlooked cases of T. saginata infection in Korea.

We report four cases of Taenia saginata taeniasis in different urban communities of Aragua state, Venezuela. After subsequent treatment with praziquantel and a saline purge, adult tapeworms were collected from all four patients and demonstrated to be T. saginata by morphological and molecular characterization. The finding of T. saginata in four distinct and separate urban municipalities of the Aragua state indicates the pertinence of rigorous meat inspection, and the importance of establishing parasite prevalence in human and bovine Venezuelan populations.

In Europe, bovine cysticercosis (BCC) is detected by routine meat inspection (MI) at the slaughterhouse. The prevalence of BCC in Belgium based on MI is estimated at 0.23%. MI has a known low sensitivity for animals with localised infections and alternative detection techniques should be considered. A mathematical scenario-analysis model was built to determine the current prevalence of BCC in Belgium based on MI results combined with results of dissection of the predilection sites (PS) and the B158/B60 Ag-ELISA on serum of 614 carcasses found negative on MI. Additionally, the impact of the introduction of the B158/B60 Ag-ELISA at slaughter on the prevalence of BCC and taeniosis and on the economic impact related to Taenia saginata was estimated for Belgium. Data for estimating the economic impact were gathered from multiple sources within the meat and human health sectors and included value loss for infected carcasses, inspection costs, carcass destruction costs, cattle insurance costs and costs related to taeniosis (consultation physician, drugs and laboratory test). The model estimated the current prevalence of BCC to be 42.5% (95% CI: 32.4-60.7%) and the sensitivity of the MI for viable and degenerated cysticerci at only 0.54% (95% CI: 0.37-0.71%). A total of 213,344 viable cysticerci (95% CI: 122,962-386.249) were estimated to be present in the infected carcasses in one year and only 408 (95% CI: 356-464) of these were present in the carcasses detected at current MI. The annual number of human taeniosis cases is estimated at 11,000 by using the sale numbers of niclosamide in Belgium. Implementation of the Ag-ELISA at slaughter (Se = 36.37%; Sp = 99.36%) would greatly reduce the prevalence of BCC to 0.6% and the number of taeniosis cases to 89 in year 10. Unfortunately, the accompanying resulting increase in costs for the animal owners, slaughterhouses and the insurance company, would be extremely high in the first years. Cattle owners would suffer losses of up to €21 million in the first year after implementation of the Ag-ELISA (compared to an annual loss of €3.5 million in the current situation), slaughterhouses of €10 million (compared to €200,000 currently) and the insurance company of almost €6 million (compared to €2.3 million profit currently). Therefore, implementation of the Ag-ELISA might not be feasible and other options for controlling T. saginata should be investigated., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The beef tapeworm, Taenia saginata, causing cysticercosis in bovines and taeniosis in humans, is thought to have a global distribution. In eastern and southern Africa, cattle production plays a crucial role in the economy, but a clear overview of the prevalence of T. saginata in the region is still lacking. This review aims to summarize existing knowledge on T. saginata taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis distribution in eastern and southern Africa., Methods: A systematic review was conducted, that gathered published and grey literature, including OIE reports, concerning T. saginata taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis in eastern and southern Africa published between January 1st, 1990 and December 31st, 2017., Results: A total of 1232 records were initially retrieved, with 78 full text articles retained for inclusion in the database. Unspecified taeniosis cases were reported for Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, whereas T. saginata taeniosis cases were found for Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The prevalence of taeniosis ranged between 0.2-8.1% based on microscopy, and between 0.12-19.7% based on coproAg-ELISA. In Ethiopia, the percentage of tapeworm self-reporting was high (45.0-64.2%), and a substantial number of anthelmintic treatments were reported to be sold in towns. The presence of bovine cysticercosis was reported in all 27 countries/territories included in the study, except for Rwanda and Somalia, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Seychelles and Socotra. The prevalence of cysticercosis ranged between 0.02-26.3% based on meat inspection, and between 6.1-34.9% based on Ag-ELISA., Conclusions: Although T. saginata has been reported in the majority of countries/territories of the study area, T. saginata taeniosis/cysticercosis remains a largely ignored condition, probably due to the absence of symptoms in cattle, the lack of data on its economic impact, and the fact that human taeniosis is considered a minor health problem. However, the occurrence of bovine cysticercosis is a clear sign of inadequate sanitation, insufficient meat inspection, and culinary habits that may favour transmission. Measures to reduce transmission of T. saginata are therefore warranted and the infection should be properly monitored.

The beef tapeworm Taenia saginata, which causes taeniosis in humans and cysticercosis in cattle, is of medical and economic importance. Understanding the parasite's genetic population structure may help to analyze transmission patterns and aid in the development of control measures. As information on sequence variability is scarce for European isolates, this study aimed to elucidate the intraspecific genetic variability of T. saginata cysts from German cattle by sequence comparison of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (nad5) genes, in relationship to sequences from other geographical origins. Cysts were collected from northern German, Swiss, and Belgian cattle. Moreover, proglottids from an adult T. saginata specimen from Palestine were included. Amplification and Sanger sequencing of the cox1 gene was successful for 57 samples (45 German, 9 Swiss, 2 Belgian, 1 Palestinian), whereas 32 sequences were obtained for the nad5 gene (21 German, 10 Swiss, 1 Palestinian). For German isolates, sequence comparison revealed minor genetic variability with two polymorphic sites and mutations in both genes. Three haplotypes with haplotype diversity of 0.088 for cox1 and 0.186 for nad5, as well as nucleotide diversities of 0.00028 and 0.00095, respectively, were observed. Comparison of the cox1 gene sequence of German isolates with other European, African, American, and Asian isolates obtained from National Center for Biotechnology Information (total of 71 sequences) raised 11 polymorphic sites and mutations as well as 10 haplotypes (haplotype diversity: 0.239; nucleotide diversity: 0.00097). Although nad5 sequence comparison comprised less sequences (N = 33), analyses revealed 11 polymorphic sites, 12 mutation sites, and 7 haplotypes (haplotype diversity: 0.335, nucleotide diversity: 0.00391), indicating a better resolution of genetic variability compared to cox1. Thus, nad5 may be particularly useful for in-depth studies on genetic divergence of T. saginata.

Background: In Catalonia (north-eastern Spain), Taenia saginata has been described in cattle but its occurrence in humans is unclear. Moreover, whether cattle acquired the infection in Catalonia or outside Catalonia and its economic impact have not been investigated. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and spatial distribution of bovine cysticercosis in Catalonia (2008-2015), and the burden from T. saginata upon the animal and human sectors in Catalonia (2013-2015)., Methods: Data on cattle diagnosed with cysticercosis at meat inspection were collected and analysed. Cattle movement history was used to identify the most likely place of bovine cysticercosis infection and to investigate its spatial distribution. Data on taeniosis treatment (niclosamide and praziquantel) costs and their supply in Catalonia as well as data on patients attending primary care with diagnosis of taeniosis were collected. The financial impact associated with T. saginata due to carcasses condemned and frozen, meat inspection and human taeniosis was estimated., Results: During 2008-2015, between 18 and 107 cattle were found positive for cysticercosis each year (prevalence at slaughter of 0.010%). Movement history was available for 44% of the infected cattle and in 53% of them Catalonia was identified as the place where the infection was acquired with highest probability. Two significant bovine cysticercosis clusters were detected. The number of patients diagnosed with taeniosis in primary care during the period 2013-2016 was 41-63/year. The overall economic impact of T. saginata (2013-2015) amounted to 154,903 €/year (95% CI: 113,075-196,762). Meat inspection accounted for 81.9% (95% CI: 75.8-86.2%) of the costs, followed by costs due to carcass condemnation and freezing (9.4%; 95% CI: 6.9-12.8%), and taeniosis-associated costs (8.7%; 95% CI: 6.7-11.6%). Costs due to freezing and condemnation of carcasses reached 19,442 €/year (95% CI: 17,528-21,391) (509 €/lightly infected carcass and 1,140 €/heavily infected carcass). Taeniosis-associated costs were estimated at 12,848.5 €/year (237 €/patient)., Conclusions: The public health risk of T. saginata in the area seems to be low. The economic impact due to T. saginata was mainly attributed to meat inspection. The cost due to carcass condemnation and freezing was limited compared to the revenue of the beef sector. Developing and implementing risk-based surveillance is needed to lower the costs of meat inspection. Considering cattle movements might be useful in the development of such a strategy.

Background: Taenia saginata cysticercus is the larval stage of the zoonotic parasite Taenia saginata, with a life-cycle involving both cattle and humans. The public health impact is considered low. The current surveillance system, based on post-mortem inspection of carcasses has low sensitivity and leads to considerable economic burden. Therefore, in the interests of public health and food production efficiency, this study aims to explore the potential of risk-based and cost-effective meat inspection activities for the detection and control of T. saginata cysticercus in low prevalence settings., Methods: Building on the findings of a study on risk factors for T. saginata cysticercus infection in cattle in Great Britain, we simulated scenarios using a stochastic scenario tree model, where animals are allocated to different risk categories based on their age, sex and movement history. These animals underwent different types of meat inspection (alternative or current) depending on their risk category. Expert elicitation was conducted to assess feasibility of scenarios and provide data for economic analysis. The cost-effectiveness of these scenarios was calculated as an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, using the number of infected carcasses detected as the technical outcome., Results: Targeting the high-risk population with more incisions into the heart while abandoning incisions into the masseter muscles was found to reduce the total number of inspections and cost, while simultaneously increasing the number of infected carcasses found., Conclusions: The results suggest that, under reasonable assumptions regarding potential improvements to current inspection methods, a more efficient and sensitive meat inspection system could be used on animals categorised according to their risk of harbouring T. saginata cysticercus at slaughter. Such a system could reduce associated cost to the beef industry and lower microbial contamination of beef products, improving public health outcomes.

Background: Bovine cysticercosis (BCC) (due to Taenia saginata) is often claimed to cause considerable economic losses to the livestock industry, particularly in beef cattle, but recent studies estimating the economic impact are lacking. The current study aimed to quantify the annual economic impact of BCC in Belgium from 2012 to 2016, by gathering data from diverse sources in the meat and human health sectors., Results: In Belgium, on average, 15 carcasses with generalised infections and 1168 carcasses with localised ones are detected upon meat inspection each year. The highest proportion of the total economic losses due to bovine cysticercosis were borne by the cattle owners with an average economic cost of €3,408,455/year: €2,954,061/year due to BCC insurance, €453,024/year due to value losses of beef of uninsured carcasses (i.e. freezing process) and €1370/year due to destruction costs of uninsured carcasses with generalised infections. The slaughterhouses suffered an economic impact of €210,806/year. They were responsible for inspection costs related to meat inspection in general, administration, processing and deboning of infected carcasses (€597,856/year), value losses (€34,848/year) and destruction costs (€105/year) of carcasses insured by the slaughterhouses (unofficial insurance) (5% of slaughtered animals). On the other hand, the slaughterhouses gained a total of €422,004/year due to unofficial insurance fees. Thirty percent of all slaughtered animals were officially insured against BCC and the insurance company generated an income of €2,322,337/year. The economic impact related to taeniosis (10,991 patients annually) amounted to a maximum of €795,858/year., Conclusion: BCC and taeniosis due to T. saginata have a large economic impact in Belgium, mainly due to the insurance costs for BCC. These results indicate the need for reducing the number of BCC and taeniosis cases to avoid the costs and losses related to this parasite.

Bovine cysticercosis is a worldwide distributed zoonosis caused by the larval form of Taenia saginata present in bovine muscles. The diagnosis is based on the postmortem inspection at slaughterhouses and consists of the macroscopic visualization of lesions caused by cysticercosis in muscle sites. However, parasitized animals can pass unnoticed during sanitary inspection. Thus, the objective of this study was to characterize and evaluate the performance of different peptides from different regions of T. saginata for the cysticercosis diagnosis using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We generated and evaluated a new recombinant protein chimera derived from the fusion of different peptides. We selected three distinct regions of T. saginata and predicted six peptides with antigenic potential (EP2-EP7). These peptides were analyzed individually and selected for generating a new chimeric recombinant protein. The new protein was termed rqTSA-25, and its performance rates were: 93.3% sensitivity (confidence interval (CI) = 76-98%), 95.3% specificity (CI = 82-99%), 93% positive predictive value (CI = 76-98%), 95% negative predictive value (CI = 82-99%), and 95% accuracy. In the immunoblot, this protein showed no false positive or false negative reaction. Thus, the use of rqTSA-25 is recommended for the diagnosis of bovine cysticercosis., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Taenia solium, T. asiatica and T. saginata tapeworms cause human taeniasis and are the origin of porcine and bovine cysticercosis. Furthermore, T. solium eggs can cause human cysticercosis, with neurocysticercosis being the most serious form of the disease. These helminth infections are neglected tropical diseases and are endemic in several countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. As a result of globalization, migration in particular, the infections have been extending to non-endemic territories. Species-specific diagnosis of taeniasis is subject to drawbacks that could be resolved using molecular approaches. In the present study, conventional and real-time amplification protocols (cPCR and qPCR) based on the T. saginata HDP2 sequence were applied in the differential diagnosis of taeniasis (T. saginata, T. solium) in both fecal samples and proglottids expelled by patients. The HDP2 homolog in T. solium was cloned and characterized., Results: Semi-nested cPCR and qPCR (Sn-HDP2 cPCR and Sn-HDP2 qPCR) amplified T. saginata and T. solium DNA, with an analytical sensitivity of 40 and 400 fg, respectively, and identically in both protocols. Eighteen taeniasis patients were diagnosed directly with T. saginata or T. solium, either from proglottids or fecal samples with/without eggs (detected using microscopy), based on the optimized Sn-HDP2 qPCR. After cloning, the T. solium HDP2 homolog sequence was confirmed to be a ribosomal sequence. The HDP2 fragment corresponded to a non-transcribed sequence/external transcribed repeat (NTS/ETS) of ribosomal DNA. Compared with the T. saginata HDP2 homolog, the T solium HDP2 sequence lacked the first 900 nt at the 5' end and showed nucleotide substitutions and small deletions., Conclusions: Sn-HDP2 cPCR and Sn-HDP2 qPCR were set up for the diagnosis of human taeniasis, using proglottids and fecal samples from affected patients. The new Sn-HDP2 qPCR protocol was the best option, as it directly differentiated T. saginata from T. solium. The diagnosis of an imported T. solium-taeniasis case and nine European T. saginata cases was relevant. Finally, the cloning and sequencing of the T. solium HDP2 fragment confirmed that HDP2 was part of a ribosomal unit.

Background: Tapeworm (cestode) infections occur worldwide even in developed countries and globalization has further complicated the epidemiology of such infections. Nonetheless, recent epidemiological data on cestode infections are limited. Our objectives were to elucidate the clinical characteristics and epidemiology of diphyllobothriosis and taeniosis in Tokyo, Japan., Methodology/principal Findings: We retrospectively reviewed 24 cases of human intestinal cestode infection from January 2006 to December 2015 at a tertiary referral hospital in Tokyo, Japan. The patients included were diagnosed with cestode infection based on morphological and/or molecular identification of expelled proglottids and/or eggs and treated in our hospital. Fifteen and 9 patients were diagnosed with diphyllobothriosis and taeniosis, respectively. The median patient age was 31 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 26-42 years), and 13 (54%) were male. Most of the patients (91.7%) were Japanese. All patients were successfully treated with praziquantel without recurrence. Diphyllobothriosis was caused by Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense in all patients. Taeniosis was due to infection of Taenia saginata in 8 [88.9%] patients and T. asiatica in 1 [11.1%] patient. All patients with taeniosis were infected outside Japan, as opposed to those with diphyllobothriosis, which were domestic. The source locations of taeniosis were mostly in developing regions. The median duration of the stay of the patients with taeniosis at the respective source location was 1 month (IQR: 1-8)., Conclusions/significance: The cestode infection, especially with D. nihonkaiense, has frequently occurred, even in Japanese cities, thereby implicating the probable increase in the prevalence of diphyllobothriosis among travelers, as the number of travelers is expected to increase owing to the Tokyo Olympics/Paralympics in 2020. In addition, medical practitioners should be aware of the importance of providing advice to travelers to endemic countries of taeniosis, including the potential risks of infection and preventive methods for these infections.

Most part of Southeast Asia is considered endemic for human-infecting Taenia tapeworms; Taenia solium, T. saginata, and T. asiatica. However, until now there was no report of the occurrence of human cases of T. asiatica in Lao PDR. This study, conducted in Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR, microscopically examined a total of 470 fecal samples by Kato Katz method and found 86% of people harboring at least one helminth. Hookworms were detected in 56% of the samples besides Opisthorchis like eggs (42%), Trichuris trichiura (27%), Ascaris spp. (14%), and Taenia spp. (4%) eggs. Serology for cysticercosis showed 6.8% positives with results varying from 3% to 14.3% in Ethnic School students and Kalouk Kao village respectively. Species-specific PCR targeting mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 28 tapeworms, recovered from 16 patients, revealed T. solium (n = 2), T. saginata (n = 21), and T. asiatica (n = 5). Two patients were confirmed to be coinfected with T. saginata and T. asiatica, indicating the endemicity of the 3 human Taenia in Lao PDR. However, nucleotide sequencing of a nuclear DNA gene, DNA polymerase delta (pold) revealed that all the tapeworms identified as T. asiatica using mtDNA had T. saginata type allele at pold locus, demonstrating that they are not "pure T. asiatica" but the hybrid descendants between the two species, confirming the wide distribution of hybrids of T. saginata/ T. asiatica in Southeast Asia. The high prevalence of several helminthic NTDs in east Savannakhet area even with conventional control measures indicates the importance to establish wide and multifaceted health programs to sustainably improve the quality of life of the populations living in these communities.

Taenia solium has been ranked as the most important foodborne parasite and Taenia saginata as the most commonly found human Taenia tapeworm worldwide. The last official reports of taeniosis from Estonia were in 2003 for T. solium and 2012 for T. saginata. By law, all animal cases of cysticercosis must be registered and reported when found. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence of cysticercosis in Estonia caused by T. solium in pigs and T. saginata in cattle. The four slaughterhouses participating in the study slaughter between them approximately 80% of pigs and cattle in Estonia annually. Sampling spanned from February to April 2014, visiting the slaughterhouses five times per week. Visual inspection, palpation, and incisions at predilection sites were used to find cysts in both species. The sites inspected in both species were the external masseter, tongue, heart, and diaphragm. In addition, the internal masseter in pigs was examined, and the internal pterygoid muscle and esophagus in cattle. DNA was extracted from the cysts and used for PCR amplification of the cox1-gene for Taenia genus and species identification. A total of 564 cattle and 1217 pigs were examined. Cysts were found in 0.36% (n = 2; CI 0.06-1.17) of cattle and in 0.08% (n = 1; CI 0.004-0.40) of pigs. Cestode PCR was negative from all cysts. Results should be considered taking into account the low sensitivity and specificity of finding cysts. Results reflect the situation in larger slaughterhouses, and the possibility that the situation in smaller slaughterhouses is different should not be excluded.

From January 2011 until September 2016, screening of taeniasis carriers was carried out in a town in Gianyar District (Taenia saginata) and in villages which consisted of several Banjars (the smallest community units) on the eastern slope of Mt. Agung, Karangasem District (Taenia solium) in Bali, Indonesia. Fecal samples from all community members who chose to participate were examined microscopically for detection of taeniid eggs each person completedwith a questionnaire to determine if they had seen whitish, noodle-like proglottids (anamnesis) in their feces. Members with egg positive feces, and those with anamnesis, were treated with niclosamide (Yomesan ® , Bayer). A total of 39T. saginata tapeworm carriers were confirmed in Gianyar after deworming based on anamnesis (100%, 39/39). Only three of them (3/39, 7.7%) and 3/173 participants (1.7%) were identified by fecal microscopy. In contrast, 20T. solium carriers including one migrated to Gianyar were confirmed from 12 patients with eggs in their feces and from another 8 persons of 12 persons suspected to be infected due anamnesis only (8/12,66.7%) in Karangasem. The majority of carriers (12/20, 60.0%) identified by microscopy included 4 (33.3%) and 8 (66.7%) carriers confirmed microscopically with and without anamnesis, respectively. The prevalence rate was 12/1090 (1.10%) of participants. The results indicate that anamnesis is reliable for detection of T. saginata carriers, whereas it is not so reliable for detection of T. solium taeniasis (8/12, 66.7%) and that microscopy is more informative than anamnesis for T. solium. Eggs were detected more frequently in T. solium carriers (4/12, 33.3%) than in patients infected with T. saginata (3/39, 7.7%). T. solium carriers have so far been confirmed from nine of 13 Banjars examined in Karangasem. This study reveals that anamnesis is highly useful for screening of T. saginata carriers, whereas microscopy is a more valuable tool for detection of T. solium carriers., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Bovine cysticercosis (BCC), caused by the helminth Taenia saginata, is currently diagnosed solely by official meat inspection (MI) based on macroscopic detection of viable cysticerci or typical lesions of degenerated larvae. MI has a known low sensitivity (<16%), leading to a large proportion of infected cattle carcasses entering the human food chain and posing a risk to public health. Prevalence in Belgium based on MI results is estimated at around 0.22%. Due to the low sensitivity of MI, alternative techniques to detect BCC should be considered. This study evaluates MI, MI with additional incisions in the heart, specific antibody detection against excretory/secretory (E/S) in the Ab-ELISA and circulating antigens in the B158/B60 Ag-ELISA on 715 (101 MI-positive and 614 MI-negative) samples collected from carcasses at slaughterhouses in Belgium. Full dissection of the predilection sites was considered the reference test. During the study, mostly carcasses with (very) light infections were detected containing predominantly degenerated or calcified cysticerci and only few viable cysticerci. Dissection of the predilection sites detected 144 (23%) additional infections in the 614 MI-negative carcasses. When sequentially performing first the dissection of the predilection sites, followed by the Ag-ELISA and the Ab-ELISA, an additional 36% of MI-negative carcasses were found positive for BCC, resulting in a prevalence very much higher than the above mentioned 0.22%. The B158/B60 Ag-ELISA showed a sensitivity of 40% for the detection of carcasses containing viable cysticerci and a specificity of 100%, and detected 70 positive carcasses of which only 14 had been identified as positive during MI. If Ag-ELISA were implemented as a detection technique for BCC in the slaughterhouses, many infected carcasses would still not be detected due to the sensitivity of 40%. But as sensitivity increases with increasing number of cysticerci in the carcass, the infected carcasses passing inspection will be the ones containing only a few viable cysticerci and thus posing a smaller food safety problem. Ag-ELISA is preferred over the ES Ab-ELISA in this study, which had a sensitivity of 13.3% and a specificity of 91.7% in a population with overall low infection burdens., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Taenia solium and Taenia saginata are zoonotic parasites of public health importance. Data on their occurrence in humans and animals in western Europe are incomplete and fragmented. In this study, we aimed to update the current knowledge on the epidemiology of these parasites in this region., Methods: We conducted a systematic review of scientific and grey literature published from 1990 to 2015 on the epidemiology of T. saginata and T. solium in humans and animals. Additionally, data about disease occurrence were actively sought by contacting local experts in the different countries., Results: Taeniosis cases were found in twelve out of eighteen countries in western Europe. No cases were identified in Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. For Denmark, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and the UK, annual taeniosis cases were reported and the number of detected cases per year ranged between 1 and 114. Detected prevalences ranged from 0.05 to 0.27%, whereas estimated prevalences ranged from 0.02 to 0.67%. Most taeniosis cases were reported as Taenia spp. or T. saginata, although T. solium was reported in Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Portugal and the UK. Human cysticercosis cases were reported in all western European countries except for Iceland, with the highest number originating from Portugal and Spain. Most human cysticercosis cases were suspected to have acquired the infection outside western Europe. Cases of T. solium in pigs were found in Austria and Portugal, but only the two cases from Portugal were confirmed with molecular methods. Germany, Spain and Slovenia reported porcine cysticercosis, but made no Taenia species distinction. Bovine cysticercosis was detected in all countries except for Iceland, with a prevalence based on meat inspection of 0.0002-7.82%., Conclusions: Detection and reporting of taeniosis in western Europe should be improved. The existence of T. solium tapeworm carriers, of suspected autochthonous cases of human cysticercosis and the lack of confirmation of porcine cysticercosis cases deserve further attention. Suspected cases of T. solium in pigs should be confirmed by molecular methods. Both taeniosis and human cysticercosis should be notifiable and surveillance in animals should be improved.

Background: Taenia solium, the cause of neurocysticercosis (NCC), has significant socioeconomic impacts on communities in developing countries. This disease, along with taeniasis is estimated to infect 2.5 to 5 million people globally. Control of T. solium NCC necessitates accurate diagnosis and treatment of T. solium taeniasis carriers. In areas where all three species of Taenia tapeworms (T. solium, Taenia saginata and Taenia asiatica) occur sympatrically, conventional microscope- and copro-antigen based diagnostic methods are unable to distinguish between these three Taenia species. Molecular diagnostic tools have been developed to overcome this limitation; however, conventional PCR-based techniques remain unsuitable for large-scale deployment in community-based surveys. Moreover, a real-time PCR (qPCR) for the discrimination of all three species of Taenia in human stool does not exist. This study describes the development and validation of a new triplex Taq-Man probe-based qPCR for the detection and discrimination of all three Taenia human tapeworms in human stools collected from communities in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The diagnostic characteristics of the test are compared with conventional Kato Katz (KK) thick smear and copro-antigen ELISA (cAgELISA) method utilizing fecal samples from a community based cross-sectional study. Using this new multiplex real-time PCR we provide an estimate of the true prevalence of taeniasis in the source population for the community based cross-sectional study., Methodology/principal Findings: Primers and TaqMan probes for the specific amplification of T. solium, T. saginata and T. asiatica were designed and successfully optimized to target the internal transcribed spacer I (ITS-1) gene of T. solium and the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COX-1) gene of T. saginata and T. asiatica. The newly designed triplex qPCR (T3qPCR) was compared to KK and cAgELISA for the detection of Taenia eggs in stool samples collected from 342 individuals in Dak Lak province, Central Highlands of Vietnam. The overall apparent prevalence of taeniasis in Dak Lak province was 6.72% (95% confidence interval (CI) [3.94-9.50]) in which T. solium accounted for 1.17% (95% CI [0.37-3.17]), according to the T3qPCR. There was sympatric presence of T. solium, T. saginata and T. asiatica. The T3qPCR proved superior to KK and cAgELISA for the detection and differentiation of Taenia species in human feces. Diagnostic sensitivities of 0.94 (95% credible interval (CrI) [0.88-0.98]), 0.82 (95% CrI [0.58-0.95]) and 0.52 (95% CrI [0.07-0.94]), and diagnostic specificities of 0.98 (95% CrI [0.94-1.00]), 0.91 (95% CrI [0.85-0.96]) and 0.99 (95% CrI [0.96-1.00]) were estimated for the diagnosis of taeniasis for the T3qPCR, cAgELISA and KK thick smear in this study, respectively., Conclusions: T3qPCR is not only superior to the KK thick smear and cAgELISA in terms of diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, but it also has the advantage of discriminating between species of Taenia eggs in stools. Application of this newly developed T3qPCR has identified the existence of all three human Taenia tapeworms in Dak Lak province and proves for the first time, the existence of T. asiatica in the Central Highlands and the south of Vietnam.

There is an increasing interest in improving neurocysticercosis (NCC) diagnosis through the search of new and alternative antigenic sources, as those obtained from heterologous antigens. The aim of this study was to obtain potential biomarkers for NCC diagnosis after gel filtration chromatography [gel filtration fraction (GFF)] from the total saline extract (SE) from Taenia saginata metacestodes, followed by protein identification and application in immunodiagnostic. SE and GFF proteic profiles were characterized in gel electrophoresis, and diagnostic performance was verified by testing 160 serum samples through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblotting. Sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp) and other diagnostic parameters were calculated. Polypeptides of interest in the diagnosis of human NCC present at GFF were analysed by mass spectrometry (MS) and B-cell epitopes were predicted. GFF had the best diagnostic parameters: Se 93·3%; Sp 93%; AUC 0·990; LR+ = 13·42 and LR- = 0·07, and proved to be useful reacting with serum samples in immunoblotting. Proteic profile ranged from 64 to 68 kDa and enolase and calcium binding protein calreticulin precursor were identified after MS. The enolase and calcium-binding protein calreticulin precursor showed 18 and 10 predicted B-cell epitopes, respectively. In conclusion we identified important markers in the GFF with high efficiency to diagnose NCC.

Background: Taenia saginata is a tapeworm found in cattle worldwide. Analysis of genetic diversity in different geographical populations of T. saginata not only helps to understand the origin, transmission and spread of this organism, but also to evaluate the selection pressures acting on T. saginata and how it is responding to them. However, there are few reports of the genetic variability of T. saginata populations in different regions of the world, including Lao PDR and Thailand. We report the genetic diversity of T. saginata populations in Lao PDR and northeastern Thailand together with sequences of T. saginata from other countries deposited in GenBank., Results: Mitochondrial cox1 sequence analysis revealed that 15 and 8 haplotypes were identified in 30 and 21 T. saginata isolates from Lao PDR and northeastern Thailand, respectively. Fifty-three haplotypes were identified from 98 sequences. Phylogenetic tree and haplotype network analyses revealed that global isolates of T. saginata were genetically divided into five groups (A, B, C1, C2 and D). Taenia saginata isolates from Lao PDR and northeastern Thailand belonged to either Group A or B. Taenia saginata from western Thailand clustered in groups C1, C2 and D, and populations from the northeast and western Thailand were found to be genetically distinct. Taenia saginata isolates in Lao PDR and Thailand were also found to be genetically diverse but the degree of genetic differentiation was low., Conclusions: Taenia saginata populations from Lao PDR and northeastern Thailand are genetically distinct from the population in western Thailand and it is proposed that T. saginata has been dispersed by different transmission routes in Southeast Asia.

Bovine cysticercosis is caused by Taenia saginata cysticercus, the larval stage of the human tapeworm Taenia saginata. Recent European initiatives have highlighted the poor sensitivity of current surveillance for this parasite in cattle at slaughter; calling for more targeted, risk based and cost effective methods of T. saginata cysticercus detection. The aim of this study was to provide evidence that could inform such improved meat inspection activities in the United Kingdom (UK). The study included three components: (i) a farm-level case control study; (ii) the characterization of the network of movements of T. saginata cysticercus infected and non-infected animals, and an assessment of the strength of association between having passed through a farm that had previously originated an infected animal and the risk of infection; (iii) the assessment of the relationship between bovine age and gender and risk of infection. Abattoir records and cattle movement history data were used to identify farms of likely acquisition of infection (case farms) and a suitable control group. A questionnaire was used to gather farm-level characteristics and logistic regression was carried out to identify farm-level risk factors for the production of cattle found to be infected at slaughter. The case-control study provided evidence that farms situated close to a permanent potential source of human faecal contamination, and farms which used manure from animals other than cattle, were at higher risk of producing cattle later found to be infected with T. saginata cysticercus at slaughter. No other farm characteristics were identified as a risk factor for this. Analysis of the networks of animal movements showed that some individual farms played a key role as a source of T. saginata cysticercus infection; it was estimated that cattle with a history of being on a farm which previously appeared in the movement history of an infected animal were 4.27 times (P<0.001; 95% CI: 3.3-5.52) more likely to be diagnosed with T. saginata cysticercus infection at meat inspection. Male cattle aged 20 months or younger at the time of slaughter were found at lower risk of T. saginata cysticercus infection by comparison to other sex or age groups of cattle. These results, in combination with the consultation of experts and stakeholders, led to the conclusion that abattoir-based surveillance in low T. saginata cysticercus prevalence settings, such as Great Britain, could be made more targeted by stratifying cattle based on their individual movement history, sex and age characteristics., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Bovine cysticercosis is a cattle infection caused by a tapeworm, Taenia saginata. While the condition is relatively innocuous, the parasite infects the small intestine of humans in its mature stage and causes a few specific symptoms such as abdominal pain and nausea., Methods: Between February 2013 and February 2014, a total of 640 cattle were randomly selected from all the cattle sent to the abattoir, and some internal organs and skeletal muscles of these cattle were inspected., Results: Overall, 11 (1.71%) cattle were infected with the larval form of the cestode parasite T. saginata. In addition, the infection was more prevalent in cattle aged above 12 months than in those aged below 12 months [10 (2.06%) vs. 1 (0.64%)]. The prevalence of infection was significantly higher in female animals [8 (3.72%)] than in male animals [3 (0.70%)] (p<0.05). However, no significant difference was found between the rates in the 2 age groups or in different seasons. While the infections were detected in several visceral organs, no significant difference was found between their infection rates., Conclusion: The comparatively high prevalence of Cysticercus bovis infection in the cattle in Tabriz, Iran, may contribute to economic and health problems in the country's meat industry. On the other hand, the role of public health education in C. bovis infection control cannot be neglected.

Post-appendectomy faecal fistula is a rare surgical complication, associated with significant morbidity. Taenia saginata infestation is one of the most common cestode infestation in the gastrointestinal tract. It makes many complications as obstruction, perforation, anastomotic leakage or appendicular stump dehiscence. The objective of our study is to report a very rare case of post appendectomy faecal fistula caused by taenia saginata infestation and was successfully treated conservatively., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

In this report, we describe an unusual case of verminous appendicitis due to Enterobius vermicularis and Taenia saginata in a 29-year-old woman from Iran. The histopathological examinations and parasitological descriptions of both worms found in the appendix lumen are discussed. The removed appendix exhibited the macroscopic and microscopic features of acute appendicitis. Antihelminthic therapy was initiated with single doses of praziquantel for the taeniasis and mebendazole for the enterobiasis, and the patient was discharged., (Copyright © 2015 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A 38-year-old man presented with worsening abdominal pain, vomiting, anorexia, generalized weakness, and weight loss that had begun 3 days earlier. He had a history of eating raw beef. Examination of stool showed an embryonated egg containing an oncosphere.

Human taeniosis due to Taenia saginata is cosmopolitan where beef is consumed; however, there is little or no information on the symptomatology over the early time-course of human infection. Copro-antigen detection is very useful in community screening for human taeniosis, particularly for T. solium, but there are no data on copro-antigen detection in pre-patent infection. In order to provide insight into this, a voluntary self-infection with T. saginata was undertaken and monitored over a 6-month period using a copro-antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that we developed using anti-T. saginata antibody based reagents. Tapeworm patency, defined as first proglottid appearance, occurred on day 86 post-infection (pi) and was followed by almost daily release of proglottids (range 1-8) until termination using praziquantel on day 180 pi. The first 10 weeks post-infection (wpi) were essentially asymptomatic, followed by main symptoms of involuntary proglottid discharge throughout the infection period, and abdominal discomfort peaking around 15-19 wpi. Copro-antigens could not be reliably detected until 2 weeks before proglottid patency but then remained highly elevated over the next 15 weeks until treatment. Copro-antigen levels reverted to negative 4 days post-treatment. This time-course study suggests that although copro-antigen ELISA is an excellent diagnostic tool for established patent infections of T. saginata, it may not be reliable for faecal antigen detection in the early infection phase prior to proglottid release for T. saginata and other human taenioses.

The prevalence of bovine cysticercosis was established using routine postmortem inspection of 52,322 feedlot cattle slaughtered at 1 Federal Inspection Type abattoir (TIF 301) located in the Mexicali Valley in Baja California, México. The study included 31,393 animals (60.0%) purchased and transported to Baja California from stocker operations located in 17 states of México and 20,929 animals (40.0%) native to Baja California. A total of 208 carcasses showed lesions suggestive of cysticercosis, and 109 were confirmed as positive for the parasite with a prevalence of 0.21%, equivalent to 2.1 cases/1000 carcasses inspected, 2.8 cases/1000 carcasses for cattle purchased in other states, and 1.0 cases/1000 carcasses for cattle native from Baja California. The sensitivity of the postmortem inspection, when compared to a gold standard of stereoscopic microscopy, was 52.4%. The prevalence of cysticercosis was 2.8 times higher in cattle from other states compared with those native to Baja California. Cysticerci were most frequently found in the heart, followed by liver and masseter muscles. In cattle from other states, 96.6% of cysticerci were classified as calcified and <4% as viable; in cattle native to Baja California, 29% of cysticerci were classified as calcified and 71% as viable. The prevalence of bovine cysticercosis established at TIF 301 was found to be 28% lower than a previous report for Baja California. However, given the sensitivity of the postmortem inspection calculated between 10% and 50%, it is possible that an undetermined number of carcasses pass as being free of cysticerci and that the meat reached both domestic and international wholesale markets, increasing the possibility of human infection and causing substantial economic loss through condemnation of infected meat and trade restrictions for endemic regions.

Taenia saginata infestation is one of the most common cestode infestations in humans, that may cause gastrointestinal tract related complications as a result of obstruction, perforation or anastomotic leakage. A 55-year-old male patient who was receiving palliative chemotherapy for stage IV gastric cancer was admitted to the emergency department for abdominal pain. A hollow viscus organ perforation was diagnosed and an emergency surgery was performed. On postoperative day 5, the patient's midline incision eviscerated and a moving taenia emerged, with abundant particulated fluid from the incision line. The patient was admitted for abdominal surgery due to suspected bowel perforation. During the abdominal exploration, a relaxed purse stitch of the feeding tube was observed and no other bowel perforations were seen. The patient underwent two planned surgery for abdominal cavity lavage after the removal of cestode. Unfortunately, the patient died sixteen days after his admission to the intensive care unit. This is the first case describing an extraluminal manifestation of a tapeworm in a midline incision from evisceration without intestinal perforation.

Taenia saginata is an important tapeworm, infecting humans in many parts of the world. The present study was undertaken to identify inter- and intraspecific variation of T. saginata isolated from cattle in different parts of Iran using two mitochondrial CO1 and 12S rRNA genes. Up to 105 bovine specimens of T. saginata were collected from 20 slaughterhouses in three provinces of Iran. DNA were extracted from the metacestode Cysticercus bovis. After PCR amplification, sequencing of CO1 and 12S rRNA genes were carried out and two phylogenetic analyses of the sequence data were generated by Bayesian inference on CO1 and 12S rRNA sequences. Sequence analyses of CO1 and 12S rRNA genes showed 11 and 29 representative profiles respectively. The level of pairwise nucleotide variation between individual haplotypes of CO1 gene was 0.3-2.4% while the overall nucleotide variation among all 11 haplotypes was 4.6%. For 12S rRNA sequence data, level of pairwise nucleotide variation was 0.2-2.5% and the overall nucleotide variation was determined as 5.8% among 29 haplotypes of 12S rRNA gene. Considerable genetic diversity was found in both mitochondrial genes particularly in 12S rRNA gene.

Bovine cysticercosis is a zoonotic parasitic disease due to Cysticercus bovis. This study aimed to identify factors that could have an impact on the prevalence of cysticercosis and to use them to build standardized indicators of prevalence. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed on data from 4,564,065 cattle (91.3% of the cattle population slaughtered in France in 2010) among which 6491 cattle (0.14%) were found to harbor at least one lesion of cysticercosis (including 611 cattle harboring viable cysts, 0.01%). Two multivariate logistic models were fit to the data using as outcome variables either the presence or absence of viable cysts and the presence or absence of cysts whatever their level of development. Age and sex were identified as the main factors influencing bovine cysticercosis prevalence and were used for the construction of standardized prevalence and standardized cysticercosis rate. To illustrate the use of such indicators, they were calculated for the first and second semester of 2010 and for two different areas in France. The differences between raw prevalence and standardized prevalence highlight the use of standardized indicators for comparisons of prevalence between different areas and time periods as the structure of the slaughtered populations differ considerably from one to another., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Taenia saginata, T. solium, and T. asiatica are causative agents of taeniasis in humans. The difficulty of morphological identification of human taeniids can lead to misdiagnosis or confusion. To overcome this problem, several molecular methods have been developed, but use of these tends to be time-consuming. Here, a rapid and high-throughput pyrosequencing approach was developed for the identification of three human taeniids originating from various countries. Primers targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene of the three Taenia species were designed. Variations in a 26-nucleotide target region were used for identification. The reproducibility and accuracy of the pyrosequencing technology was confirmed by Sanger sequencing. This technique will be a valuable tool to distinguish between sympatric human taeniids that occur in Thailand, Asia and Pacific countries. This method could potentially be used for the molecular identification of the taeniid species that might be associated with suspicious cysts and lesions, or cyst residues in humans or livestock at the slaughterhouse.