Epidemiology of swine cysticercosis in two rural communities of Zacapa, Guatemala.

Taeniasis/cysticercosis complex caused by Taenia solium, is a serious public health problem and causes major economic losses to swine producers in developing countries in Asia, Africa and the Americas. Despite scarce epidemiological data, Guatemala is considered endemic for T. solium. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Azacualpa and Malpais, two villages in the department of Zacapa, to assess the prevalence of swine cysticercosis and associated factors. Between March and October 2019, 149 pigs were examined by tongue palpation and serum samples were then collected to detect antibodies by ab-ELISA, and necropsy was performed on pigs that were positive by tongue palpation and/or ab-ELISA, to assess parasite load. Pig owners were asked to fill out a questionnaire on factors related to pig husbandry and occurrence of swine cysticercosis. Pearson's chi-square test and multivariate analysis were used to measure the association between serological results and other variables (p < 0.05 was considered significant). The seroprevalence of swine cysticercosis was 13.4% (13/97, 95% C.I. 6.6%-20.2%) and 25% (13/52, 95% C.I. 13.2%-36.8%) in Azacualpa and Malpais, respectively, yielding an overall seroprevalence of 17.4% (26/149, 95% C.I. 11.4%-23.5%). Parasite loads ranged from 1 to over 23,000 metacestodes per carcass. No bivariate association was found between exposure variables and seropositivity. A positive diagnosis by tongue palpation increased the odds of finding pigs seropositive for cysticercosis by a factor of 16.1 in the multivariate analysis. Despite the high prevalence and parasite load of T. solium, risk factors associated with cysticercosis were not significant in this study.

Taenia solium taeniasis/cysticercosis in Guatemala: a prevalent public health problem?

In Guatemala, neurocysticercosis (NCC) was first recognized in 1940; since then, cases of NCC have been reported in all Guatemalan departments. However, epidemiological studies on Taenia solium infections are scarce and most information remains unpublished. This study aims to provide evidence of T. solium infections as a public health problem in Guatemala. All information available, either published or unpublished, on T. solium infections in the country was compiled. Official data from the Ministry of Health for the period 2003-2019 were reviewed and analyzed, and all cases of T. solium infections were classified and counted. In total, 5246 cases of taeniasis and 454 cases of human cysticercosis were recorded. On the other hand, 44 studies were identified, mostly from local journals, which included 1951 cases of taeniasis, 2873 cases of human cysticercosis of which 543 were classified with complete diagnosis, and 2590 cases of porcine cysticercosis. Cases were classified by geographic region, patient sex, and Taenia species in taeniasis cases when information was available, and the departments with the highest number of taeniasis and cysticercosis cases were identified. Meanwhile, in Zacapa, a northeastern department of Guatemala with one the highest number of taeniasis cases, a young man diagnosed with a severe form of NCC and two cases of porcine cysticercosis (both confirmed by necropsy) were identified. Taken together, the data herein reported indicate that T. solium infections are a major health problem in Guatemala that needs to be addressed.

Morphological and molecular characterization of the metacercaria of Paragonimus caliensis, as a separate species from P. mexicanus in Costa Rica.

The trematode Paragonimus mexicanus is the etiological agent of paragonimiasis, a food-borne zoonotic disease in Latin America. This species, as well as Paragonimus caliensis, have been reported from Costa Rica, but it is not known if the two are synonymous. Two types of Paragonimus metacercariae from freshwater pseudothelphusid crabs from several localities in Costa Rica were recognized by light microscopy. Morphologically, these corresponded to descriptions of P. mexicanus and P. caliensis. Metacercariae of the former species lacked a membrane or cyst and their bodies were yellow in color. Those of P. caliensis were contained in a transparent thin cyst and were pink in color. Morphotypes of metacercariae were determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Based on the number and distribution of papillae in the ventral sucker, three morphotypes were found for P. mexicanus and two for P. caliensis. Analysis of DNA sequences (nuclear ribosomal 28S and ITS2 genes, and partial mitochondrial cox1 gene) confirmed the presence of P. mexicanus and provided the first molecular data for P. caliensis. The two species are phylogenetically distinct from each other and distant from the Asian species. The confirmation of P. caliensis as a separate species from P. mexicanus raises several questions about the ecology, biological diversity, and epidemiology of the genus Paragonimus in Costa Rica.