High frequency of Taenia solium antigen positivity in patients admitted for neurological disorders in the Rural Hospital of Mosango, Democratic Republic of Congo.

BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of human cysticercosis and neurocysticercosis, caused by the larval stage of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium, is not well known in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Within a multicenter etiological and diagnostic study conducted by the NIDIAG consortium ("Better Diagnosis for Neglected Infections") and investigating several challenging syndromes, we consecutively evaluated from 2012 to 2015 all patients older than 5 years presenting with neurological disorders (neurology cohort) and with fever > 7 days (persistent fever cohort) at the rural hospital of Mosango, province of Kwilu, DRC. In both cohorts, etiological diagnosis relied on a systematic set of reference laboratory assays and on pre-established clinical case definitions. No neuroimaging was available in the study hospital. In this study, we determined the frequency of T. solium infection in both cohorts and explored in the neurology cohort its association with specific neurological presentations and final etiological diagnoses. METHODS: We conducted a post-hoc descriptive and analytic study on cysticercosis in the neurology and persistent fever cohorts, based on the presence in serum samples of circulating T. solium antigen using the B158/B60 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and of cysticercosis IgG using the LDBIO Cysticercosis Western Blot IgG assay. RESULTS: For the neurology cohort, 340 samples (of 351 enrolled patients) were available for analysis (males: 46.8%; mean age: 38.9 years). T. solium antigen positivity was found in 43 participants (12.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 9.3-16.7%), including 9 of 60 (15%) patients with epilepsy. Among the 148 samples available from the persistent fever cohort (males: 39.9%; mean age: 19.9 years), 7 were positive in the T. solium antigen ELISA (4.7%; 95% CI 1.9-9.5%; P = 0.009 when compared to the neurology cohort). No significant association was found within the neurology cohort between positivity and clinical presentation or final diagnoses. Of note, the IgG antibody-detecting assay was found positive in only four (1.3%) of the participants of the neurology cohort and in none of the persistent fever cohort. CONCLUSIONS: T. solium antigen positivity was found in at least 10% of patients admitted with neurological disorders in the Kwilu province, DRC, with no specific pattern of presentation. Further neuroimaging studies should be used to confirm whether neurocysticercosis is prevalent in this region.

Effect of mice Taenia crassiceps WFU cysticerci infection on the ovarian folliculogenesis, enzyme expression, and serum estradiol.

The murine infection with Taenia crassiceps WFU (T. crassiceps WFU) cysticerci has been widely used as an experimental model to better understand human cysticercosis. Several reports have established that the host hormonal environment determines the susceptibility and severity of many parasite infections. Female mice are more susceptible to infection with T. crassiceps cysticerci suggesting that a rich estrogen environment facilitates their reproduction. Ovarian androgens and estrogens are synthesized by key enzymes as P450-aromatase and 17α-hydroxilase/17, 20 lyase (P450C17). The aim of this study was to determine the effect of chronic intraperitoneal infection of T. crassiceps WFU cysticerci on mice ovarian follicular development, ovulation, the expression of ovarian P450-aromatase and P450C17, and serum 17ß-estradiol, key enzymes of the ovarian steroidogenic pathway. To perform this study ovaries and serum were obtained at two, four and six months from T. crassiceps WFU cysticerci infected mice, and compared to those of healthy animals. The ovaries were fixed and processed for histology or lysed in RIPA buffer for Western blot using specific antibodies for P450C17 and P450-aromatase. 17ß-estradiol serum concentration was measured by ELISA. The results showed that the infection with T. crassiceps WFU cysticerci significantly reduced the number of primordial and primary follicles after two months of infection. Through the course of the study, the corpus luteum number began to decrease, whereas atretic follicles increased. The expression of ovarian P450C17 and P450-aromatase as well as serum E2 concentration were significantly increased in the infected group compared to control. These findings show that chronic infection with Taenia crassiceps WFU may alter the reproductive functions of the female mice host.

Co-infection: the outcome of Plasmodium infection differs according to the time of pre-existing helminth infection.

Although helminth-Plasmodium coinfections are common in tropical regions, the implications of this co-existence for the host immune response are poorly understood. In order to understand the effect of helminth infection at different times of coinfection on the immune response against Plasmodium infection, BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally infected with Taenia crassiceps (Tc). At 2 (Tc2) or 8 (Tc8) weeks post-infection, mice were intravenously infected with 1 × 103 Plasmodium yoelii (Py) 17XL-parasitized red blood cells. Py 17XL-single-infected mice developed cachexia, splenomegaly, and anemia, and died at 11 days post-infection. Importantly, Tc2 + Py-coinfected mice showed increased survival of 58% on day 11, but developed pathology (cachexia and splenomegaly) and succumbed on day 18 post-coinfection, this latter associated with high levels of IL-1ß and IL-12, and reduced IFN-γ in serum compared with Py 17XL-single-infected mice. Interestingly, Tc8 + Py-coinfected mice showed increased survival up to 80% on day 11 and succumbed on day 30 post-coinfection. This increased survival rate conferred by chronic helminth infection was associated with a decreased pathology and mixed inflammatory-type 1/anti-inflammatory-type 2 immune profile as evidenced by the production of high levels of IL-12 and IL-10, and reduced TNF-α from macrophages, high levels of IL-4 and IL-10, and low levels of IFN-γ from spleen cells. Also high serum levels of IL-1ß, TNF-α, IL-12, IL-4, and IL-10, but a significant reduction of IFN-γ were observed. Together, these data indicate that polarization of the cell-mediated response modulated by a pre-existing helminth infection differentially impacts on the host immune response to Py 17XL in a time-dependent manner.

Serological diagnosis of Taenia solium in pigs: No measurable circulating antigens and antibody response following exposure to Taenia saginata oncospheres.

Taenia solium taeniasis/cysticercosis is a zoonosis included in the WHO's list of neglected tropical diseases. Accurate diagnostic tools for humans and pigs are needed to monitor intervention outcomes. Currently used diagnostic tools for porcine cysticercosis all have drawbacks. Serological tests are mainly confronted with problems of specificity. More specifically, circulating antigen detecting tests cross-react with Taenia hydatigena and the possibility of transient antigens as a result of aborted infections is suspected. Furthermore, the hypothesis has been raised that hatched ingested eggs of other Taenia species may lead to a transient antibody response or to the presence of circulating antigen detectable by serological tests used for porcine cysticercosis. Here we describe the results of a study that consisted of oral administration of Taenia saginata eggs to five piglets followed by serological testing during five weeks and necropsy aiming at studying possible cross reactions in serological tests used for porcine cysticercosis. The infectivity of the eggs was verified by in vitro hatching and by experimental infection of a calf. One piglet developed acute respiratory disease and died on day 6 post infection. The remaining four piglets did not show any clinical signs until euthanasia. None of the serum samples from four piglets collected between days 0 and 35 post infection gave a positive reaction in the B158/B60 Ag-ELISA and in a commercial Western blot for antibody detection. In conclusion, this study showed that experimental exposure of four pigs to T. saginata eggs did not result in positive serologies for T. solium. These results may help interpreting serological results in monitoring of T. solium control programmes.

[(CHANGE IN THE DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ANTIBODIES TO CYSTICERCUS CELL ULOSAE IN THE SERUM SAMPLE COLLECTION IN RELATION TO THE PERIOD OF STORAGE DURING DEEP FREEZING)].

The paper gives the results of experimental studies determining the preservation of antibodies to C.cellulosae in the serum in relation to the period of their storage during deep freezing. These studies, as applied to parasitic pathology, have been conducted for the first time and are of practical medical value in determining optimal procedures and periods of serum storage without a loss of their diagnostic characteristics.

Assessment of the repeatability and border-plate effects of the B158/B60 enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay for the detection of circulating antigens (Ag-ELISA) of Taenia saginata.

The monoclonal antibody-based circulating antigen detecting ELISA (B158/B60 Ag-ELISA) has been used elaborately in several studies for the diagnosis of human, bovine and porcine cysticercosis. Interpretation of test results requires a good knowledge of the test characteristics, including the repeatability and the effect of the borders of the ELISA plates. Repeatability was tested for 4 antigen-negative and 5 antigen-positive reference bovine serum samples by calculating the Percentage Coefficient of Variation (%CV) within and between plates, within and between runs, overall, for two batches of monoclonal antibodies and by 2 laboratory technicians. All CV values obtained were below 20% (except one: 24.45%), which indicates a good repeatability and a negligible technician error. The value of 24.45% for indicating the variability between batches of monoclonal antibodies for one positive sample is still acceptable for repeatability measures. Border effects were determined by calculating the %CV values between the inner and outer wells of one plate for 2 positive serum samples. Variability is a little more present in the outer wells but this effect is very small and no significant border effect was found.

Investigating a hyper-endemic focus of Taenia solium in northern Lao PDR.

BACKGROUND: The Taenia solium cysticercosis-taeniasis complex is a Neglected Tropical Disease of significant public health importance in many impoverished communities worldwide. The parasite is suspected to be endemic in Lao PDR as a result of widespread risk factors including open human defecation, free ranging pigs and weak systems for meat inspection and carcass condemnation. Reported prevalences of human taeniasis throughout the country have ranged from 0-14%, although few of these have definitively diagnosed T. solium, grossly indistinguishable from Taenia saginata (beef tapeworm) and Taenia asiatica. This short communication details the suspicion of a hyper endemic "hotspot" of T. solium in a remote Tai Dam village in northern Lao PDR. FINDINGS: Initial antibody serosurveillance of four provinces in Lao PDR in 2011 indicated human taeniasis and cysticercosis prevalences of 46.7% and 66.7% respectively, in the village of Om Phalong in the north of the country. Subsequent copro-antigen ELISA on 92 human faecal samples from this same village, representing a total 27.9% of the target community, indicated a taeniasis prevalence of 26.1% (95% CI?=?18.2-35.9). Subsequent PCR and sequencing of samples (n?=?5) all identified as T. solium; the other human tapeworms T. saginata and T. asiatica were not detected in any of the samples genotyped. CONCLUSION: This is potentially one of the highest documented prevalences of T. solium taeniasis to date in Lao PDR, if not the Southeast Asia region. This result raises suspicion that other "hotspots" of T. solium hyper endemicity may exist in the region, particularly in communities where the consumption of raw pork is commonplace as a result of cultural practices.

Recombinant protein- and synthetic peptide-based immunoblot test for diagnosis of neurocysticercosis.

One of the most well-characterized tests for diagnosing neurocysticercosis (NCC) is the enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot (EITB) assay developed at the CDC, which uses lentil lectin-bound glycoproteins (LLGP) extracted from Taenia solium cysticerci. Although the test is very reliable, the purification process for the LLGP antigens has been difficult to transfer to other laboratories because of the need for expensive equipment and technical expertise. To develop a simpler assay, we previously purified and cloned the diagnostic glycoproteins in the LLGP fraction. In this study, we evaluated three representative recombinant or synthetic antigens from the LLGP fraction, individually and in different combinations, using an immunoblot assay (recombinant EITB). Using a panel of 249 confirmed NCC-positive and 401 negative blood serum samples, the sensitivity of the recombinant EITB assay was determined to be 99% and the specificity was 99% for diagnosing NCC. We also tested a panel of 239 confirmed NCC-positive serum samples in Lima, Peru, and found similar results. Overall, our data show that the performance characteristics of the recombinant EITB assay are comparable to those of the LLGP-EITB assay. This new recombinant- and synthetic antigen-based assay is sustainable and can be easily transferred to other laboratories in the United States and throughout the world.

Taenia crassiceps infection abrogates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Helminth infections induce strong immunoregulation that can modulate subsequent pathogenic challenges. Taenia crassiceps causes a chronic infection that induces a Th2-biased response and modulates the host cellular immune response, including reduced lymphoproliferation in response to mitogens, impaired antigen presentation and the recruitment of suppressive alternatively activated macrophages (AAMФ). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the ability of T. crassiceps to reduce the severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Only 50% of T. crassiceps-infected mice displayed EAE symptoms, which were significantly less severe than uninfected mice. This effect was associated with both decreased MOG-specific splenocyte proliferation and IL-17 production and limited leukocyte infiltration into the spinal cord. Infection with T. crassiceps induced an anti-inflammatory cytokine microenvironment, including decreased TNF-α production and high MOG-specific production of IL-4 and IL-10. While the mRNA expression of TNF-α and iNOS was lower in the brain of T. crassiceps-infected mice with EAE, markers for AAMФ were highly expressed. Furthermore, in these mice, there was reduced entry of CD3(+)Foxp3(-) cells into the brain. The T. crassiceps-induced immune regulation decreased EAE severity by dampening T cell activation, proliferation and migration to the CNS.

Prevalencia de teniosis y seroprevalencia de cisticercosis humana en Pampa Cangallo, Ayacucho, Perú 2008 / Taeniosis prevalence and human cysticercosis seroprevalence in Pampa Cangallo, Ayacucho, Peru 2008

Para estimar la prevalencia de teniosis y la seroprevalencia de cisticercosis humana en la población del distrito de Pampa Cangallo, en la sierra central de Perú (Ayacucho); se realizó un estudio transversal en el año 2008, con 368 personas de 5 a 70 años de edad. El diagnóstico de teniosis se efectuó mediante la prueba coproparasitológica (sedimentación rápida) mientras que para el diagnóstico de cisticercosis se realizó un tamizaje con la prueba de ELISA, y los casos positivos fueron confirmados por inmunoblot. Se encontró cinco casos positivos a huevos de Taenia sp, lo que representa una prevalencia de teniosis de 1,4 por ciento (IC95 por ciento: 0,2 - 2,5 por ciento), siendo los individuos entre los 20 a 49 años los que presentan la mayor proporción. Se encontró una seroprevalencia de cisticercosis de 3,3 por ciento (IC95 por ciento: 1,4 - 5,1 por ciento) por 12 casos positivos, siendo más frecuente en mujeres. No se encontró asociación con ninguno de los factores estudiados. Si bien la prevalencia es baja, se confirma la existencia de la teniosis y cisticercosis en esta población, por lo que se sugiere el establecimiento de estrategias de prevención y control, con énfasis en la educación comunitaria.

To estimate the taeniosis prevalence and human cysticercosis seroprevalence in a rural town from the Peruvian central Andes (Pampa Cangallo, Ayacucho), we performed a cross sectional study in 2008, included 368 people between 5 and 70 years. Fast sedimentation technique and direct examination of stool samples were used to taeniosis diagnosis, and ELISA are used as screening test to cysticercosis, positives cases were confirmed with immunoblot. We found five positives cases to Taenia sp. eggs, which represents a 1.4 percent (95 percentCI: 0.2 - 2.5 percent) of a taeniosis prevalence, being individuals between the 20 to 49 years those which presented high proportion. We found 3.3 percent (95 percentCI: 1.5 - 5.1 percent) of cysticercosis prevalence for 12 positives cases, being most frequent in women. No association with evaluated factors was found. Though the prevalence is low, the existence of the taeniosis and cysticercosis is confirmed in this population, by what there is suggested the establishment of prevention and control strategies, emphatically in the community education.

[Taeniosis prevalence and human cysticercosis seroprevalence in Pampa Cangallo, Ayacucho, Peru 2008]. / Prevalencia de teniosis y seroprevalencia de cisticercosis humana en Pampa Cangallo, Ayacucho, Perú 2008.

To estimate the taeniosis prevalence and human cysticercosis seroprevalence in a rural town from the Peruvian central Andes (Pampa Cangallo, Ayacucho), we performed a cross sectional study in 2008, included 368 people between 5 and 70 years. Fast sedimentation technique and direct examination of stool samples were used to taeniosis diagnosis, and ELISA are used as screening test to cysticercosis, positives cases were confirmed with immunoblot. We found five positives cases to Taenia sp. eggs, which represents a 1.4% (95%CI: 0.2 - 2.5%) of a taeniosis prevalence, being individuals between the 20 to 49 years those which presented high proportion. We found 3.3% (95%CI: 1.5 - 5.1%) of cysticercosis prevalence for 12 positives cases, being most frequent in women. No association with evaluated factors was found. Though the prevalence is low, the existence of the taeniosis and cysticercosis is confirmed in this population, by what there is suggested the establishment of prevention and control strategies, emphatically in the community education.

Strategies of statistical image analysis of 2D immunoblots: the case of IgG response in experimental Taenia crassiceps cysticercosis.

A procedure is described to measure the diversity and enrich the meaning and usefulness of the information contained in 2D immunoblot images of the reaction between a complex mixture of parasite antigens and the complex set of antibodies usually present in the sera of infected individual hosts. The procedure and results are illustrated by the experimental infection of 30 mice (three strains, both sexes, 5 mice in each strain x sex combination) with Taenia crassiceps cysticerci, thirty days after the challenge. The exercise revealed a significant positive correlation of parasite loads with the hosts' IgG response, in association with their genetic background and less clearly with their sex, all in the midst of a remarkable diversity of both response variables among individual mice. After superimposing a 10 x 10 grid upon the 2D immunoblots some 10% of the positive grid-cells (those who had at least one spot) were positively correlated, suggesting shared epitopes between different antigen spots and/or similar factors controlling different antibody-producing cell clones. Also, a significant correlation was found between many of the positive grid-cells with high values of [Sigma]parasites, but none with low. Thus, the procedure provided many clues for the selection of antigen spots useful to improve immunodiagnosis of cysticercosis and weakened the inclusion of any as vaccine candidate(s). However, some 16 antigen spots were shared almost exclusively by the resistant strains and could relate to protection. The procedure here illustrated may be used in other infections to assess and identify the relevance of antibodies in diagnosis and prevention, as well as provides a measurement of the expected diversity in the hosts' antibody response to the pathogen and of the possible relations between the individual responses towards different antigens contained in the mixture.

[Knowledge and practices concerning taeniasis-cysticercosis in Colombian pig-breeders]. / Conocimiento y prácticas sobre teniasis-cisticercosis en una comunidad Colombiana.

OBJECTIVE: Describing knowledge and practices regarding taeniasis-cysticercosis and cysticercosis prevalence in the village of Andagoya, Colombia. METHODS: The study design was qualitative and quantitative. The study population consisted of pig breeders and their families, local groups and pigs. RESULTS: Study participants had partial knowledge of the taeniasis-cysticercosis complex. They considered taeniasis to be an illness resulting from faecal transmission and not caused by becoming infected with cysticercosis after consuming pork. Pig breeding is not carried out in confined conditions and, although breeders know the right measures for controlling some parasitic illnesses, these practices are not observed. There was 8.7% presence of T. solium antibodies in pig breeders and their relatives and 20.9% in the pigs. CONCLUSIONS: An educational programme aimed at raising the population's awareness of the taeniasis-cysticercosis complex cycle should be developed; this will facilitate control measures being applied.

Detection of Taenia solium antigens and anti-T. solium antibodies in paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients with intraparenchymal or extraparenchymal neurocysticercosis.

BACKGROUND: Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a frequent cause of epilepsy worldwide. Compared with the more common parenchymal brain cysts, extraparenchymal infections are difficult to manage and have a poor prognosis. Serological assays are used to detect circulating Taenia solium antigens or anti-T. solium antibodies in serum or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples. There are no guidelines on whether to use serum or CSF specimens for a particular assay. METHODS: We obtained paired serum and CSF samples from 91 patients with NCC (48 had intraparenchymal NCC, and 43 had extraparenchymal NCC) for detection of antibodies, using an enzyme-linked immunotransfer blot (EITB) assay, and antigens, using a monoclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: For the intraparenchymal NCC group, the EITB assay yielded more true-positive results for serum samples, and the ELISA yielded slightly more true-positive results for CSF samples than for serum samples, but none of these differences were statistically significant. Most patients with calcified NCC were antibody positive but antigen negative. For extraparenchymal disease, all samples were antibody positive, and all but 2 were antigen positive, with most samples containing high antigen levels. CONCLUSIONS: The sensitivity of antibody-detecting EITB assays is not increased through the use of CSF samples rather than serum samples. The antigen-detecting ELISA performed better for CSF samples than for serum samples, but for both specimen types it was less sensitive than the EITB assay. Active and inactive NCC are better differentiated from each other by the antigen-detecting ELISA, for both serum and CSF samples. High antigen levels suggest the presence of subarachnoid NCC.

Conocimiento y prácticas sobre Teniasis-cisticercosis en una comunidad colombiana / Knowledge and practices concerning taeniasis-cysticercosis in Colombian pig-breeders

Objetivo Determinar los conocimientos y prácticas sobre teniasis-cisticercosis y la frecuencia de anticuerpos contra Taenia solium en habitantes de la localidad de Andagoya, Colombia. Métodos Se realizó un estudio cualitativo-cuantitativo. Las poblaciones de estudio fueron los criadores de cerdos y sus familias, población local y cerdos. Resultados La población tiene un conocimiento parcial del complejo teniasis-cisticercosis. Identifica la cisticercosis como una enfermedad sólo del cerdo y no del humano, considera la teniasis como una enfermedad de transmisión fecal y no ocasionada por el consumo de carne de cerdo con cisticercosis. La crianza de cerdos no se hace en confinamiento y aunque se conocen los hábitos higiénicos para el control de enfermedades parasitarias su cumplimiento no es adecuado. La presencia de anticuerpos contra T. solium en los criadores de cerdos y sus familiares fue del 8,7 por ciento y en los cerdos del 20,9 por ciento. Conclusión Se debe desarrollar un programa educativo sobre teniasis-cisticercosis que permita sensibilizar a la población para el conocimiento y la aplicación de medidas de control.

Objective Describing knowledge and practices regarding taeniasis-cysticercosis and cysticercosis prevalence in the village of Andagoya, Colombia. Methods The study design was qualitative and quantitative. The study population consisted of pig breeders and their families, local groups and pigs. Results Study participants had partial knowledge of the taeniasis-cysticercosis complex. They considered taeniasis to be an illness resulting from faecal transmission and not caused by becoming infected with cysticercosis after consuming pork. Pig breeding is not carried out in confined conditions and, although breeders know the right measures for controlling some parasitic illnesses, these practices are not observed. There was 8.7 percent presence of T. solium antibodies in pig breeders and their relatives and 20.9 percent in the pigs. Conclusions An educational programme aimed at raising the population's awareness of the taeniasis-cysticercosis complex cycle should be developed; this will facilitate control measures being applied.

Taeniasis-cysticercosis in Southern Ecuador: assessment of infection status using multiple laboratory diagnostic tools

Taenia solium-taeniasis and cysticercosis were studied in the human and porcine populations of a rural community in the Southern Ecuadorian Andes. From the 1059 inhabitants, 800 serum samples and 958 stool samples could be collected. In addition, 646 from the estimated 1148 pigs were tongue inspected. Circulating antigen was detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (Ag-ELISA) in 2.25 percent of the human population, whereas intestinal taeniasis was detected in 1.46 percent by the formalin-ether technique. Following treatment and recovery of tapeworm fragments these were all identified as T. solium. Porcine cysticercosis was diagnosed in 3.56 percent of the pigs by tongue inspection. In addition, enzyme linked immunoelectrotransfer blot (EITB) was performed on a subset group of 100 humans to confirm the results of the Ag-ELISA. One hundred serum samples from pigs were also analysed by EITB. It appeared that 43 and 74 percent of humans and pigs had antibodies against T. solium cysticerci, respectively. It is concluded that contrary to the high exposure of the human population to T. solium that is suggested by EITB, the number of active cysticercosis cases, diagnosed by Ag-ELISA, was low, which may indicate endemic stability. The further use of complementary diagnostic methods for a better understanding of the epidemiology of T. solium is suggested.

Combined human and porcine mass chemotherapy for the control of T. solium.

A combined (human and porcine) mass chemotherapy program was tested in a controlled design in 12 village hamlets in the Peruvian highlands. A single dose of 5 mg of praziquantel was given to eliminate intestinal taeniasis in humans, and two rounds of oxfendazole (30 mg/kg) were administered to all pigs. The total population in the study villages was 5,658 resident individuals, and the porcine population at the beginning of the study was 716 pigs. Human treatment coverage was 75%, ranging from 69% to 80%. There were only a few refusals of owners for porcine treatment of their animals. The effect of the intervention was measured by comparing incidence rates (seroconversion in pigs who were seronegative 4 months before) in treatment versus control villages, before and up to 18 months after treatment. There was a clear effect in decreasing prevalence (odds ratio, 0.51; P < 0.001) and incidence (odds ratio, 0.39; P < 0.013) in the treatment area after the intervention, which did not leave to extinction of the parasite but stabilized in slightly decreased rates persisting along the follow-up period. Mass chemotherapy was effective in decreasing infection pressure in this hyperendemic area. However, the magnitude of the effect was small and did not attain the goal of eliminating transmission.

Teniasis: effect on element status of children.

The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of level of the essential elements of copper, magnesium, and zinc status in cases of teniasis in children. Copper, magnesium, and zinc levels were measured in 40 children who were positive for intestinal parasite of Taenia saginata. Scores were obtained for the positives and their 30 age- and sex-matched T. saginata-negative healthy children. The mean concentration of copper, magnesium, and zinc in blood showed no statistically difference in T. saginata-positive children than in their controls both in females (p>0.05) and males (p>0.05). However, a clear numerically decrease was observed especially in magnesium and zinc levels compared to the controls both in females and males. The average magnesium concentration in T. saginata-positive female children and male children were 20+/-1.9 and 22+/-2.2 mg/L and it was 27+/-2.1 and 27+/-2.3 mg/L in controls, respectively. The mean values of the zinc in blood were 0.76+/-0.5 and 0.72+/-0.4 mg/L in T. saginata-positive female children and male children and 0.85+/-0.3 and 0.81+/-0.5 mg/L in female and male controls, respectively. No correlation could be demonstrated between age and mean values of copper, magnesium, and zinc in T. saginata-positive females and males and controls (p>0.05). No significant correlation could be found between blood copper, magnesium and zinc levels in T. saginata-positive female and male children and controls (p>0.05). Although there was no statistical correlation observed in copper, magnesium, and zinc levels between patients and controls, there seem to be, especially in magnesium and zinc levels, a decrease, whereas no change was seen in the zinc level in children infected with T. saginata compared to controls.

Application of synthetic 8-kD and recombinant GP50 antigens in the diagnosis of neurocysticercosis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

The gold standard serodiagnostic assay for cysticercosis and neurocysticercosis, diseases caused by the metacestode of Taenia solium, uses lentil lectin-purified glycoprotein (LLGP) in a Western blot assay. We tested two antigens derived from LLGP, synthetic TS18var1 (sTS18var1) and recombinant GP50 antigen (rGP50), in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples. The sensitivity for serum and CSF was 94.7% and 100% for rGP50 and 90.4% and 90.2% for sTS18var1, respectively. The specificity for serum and CSF samples was 93.8% and 100% for rGP50 and 90.3% and 98.0% for sTS18var1, respectively. The use of these antigens individually or combined as a diagnostic antigen cocktail eliminates the need for purification of antigens from parasite material and offers the advantage of using a simple and quantitative ELISA format.

TH2 profile in asymptomatic Taenia solium human neurocysticercosis.

Neurocysticercosis (NC), a parasitic disease caused by Taenia solium, may be either asymptomatic or have mild to severe symptoms due to several factors. In this study, the immunological factors that underlie NC pleomorphism were studied. Ten of the 132 inhabitants of a rural community in Mexico (Tepez) had a computerized tomography (CT) scan compatible with calcified NC, and all were asymptomatic. Their immunological profiles were compared with those of 122 CT scan negative (non-NC) subjects from the same village. NC was associated with a TH2 response (IgG4, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13). Subjects from Tepez had higher levels of specific antibodies (IgG1, IgG2, IgG4, IgE) and specific cell proliferation than subjects from an area with low exposure (Ensenada). This suggests that non-NC subjects from Tepez had been exposed to T. solium and resisted infection in the brain. Distinct immunological profiles in equally exposed individuals differing in outcome of infection support the hypothesis of host-related factors in resistance to and pathogenesis of NC. This is the first study reporting the immunological profile associated with the asymptomatic form of NC.