Prevalence of porcine cysticercosis in Bareilly, Northern India

Abstract

Results Porcine cysticercosis caused by a metacestode of zoonotically important cestode parasite is transmitted to humans through the ingestion of raw or undercooked pork. A more severe manifestation of infection in humans is development of neurocysticercosis (NCC) [1-3]. Pigs acquire infection through consumption of human faeces, or through feed and drinking water contaminated with ova. In pigs, the cysticerci commonly develop in skeletal muscles, tongue, diaphragm, heart and other organs, including brain and eye [4, 5]. The infection is endemic in many developing countries of Latin America [6, 7], Africa [8] and Asia [9] and the economic loss resulting from condemnation of infected pork is substantially high [5, 10-12]. Specific diagnosis of porcine cysticercosis is critical for identification of endemic regions and for development of strategies to control the infection [13]. Further, prevalence of porcine cysticercosis is suggestive of an active transmission of the parasite between pigs and humans [14]. Though prevalence of cysticercosis has been reported from several parts of India, information from the Bareilly region is scanty. Therefore, the present work was undertaken to study the level of prevalence of porcine cysticercosis in Bareilly region of northern India. The investigation was carried out in local makeshift slaughter houses of Bareilly District, located in the state of Uttar Pradesh in the northern part of India. Bareilly District is located between latitude 28 and longitude 78 and 79 47 east. The climate is hot, humid and subtropical, however, during winters the temperature deeps to 2 to 15 C. The annual rainfall is around 500–700 mm.