Taenia solium infection in a rural community in the Peruvian Andes

P. L. Moro, L. Lopera, N. Bonifacio, R. H. Gilman, B. Silva, M. Verastegui, A. Gonzales, H. H. Garcia, L. Cabrera, J. Pretell, M. Tovar, A. Gonzalez, C. Gavidia, N. Falcon, T. Bernal, G. Herrera, J. Jimenez, S. Rodriguez, C. W. Tsang

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9 Scopus citations

Abstract

An epidemiological study was conducted in a highland, rural community, in Peru, to determine the seroprevalences of human and porcine infection with Taenia solium and the risk factors associated with human infection. The seroprevalences, determined using an assay based on enzyme-linked-immuno-electrotransfer blots (EITB), were 21% (66/316) in the humans and 65% (32/49) in the pigs. The human subjects aged < 30 years were more likely to be positive for anti-T. solium antibodies than the older subjects (P < 0.001). The risk factors associated with human seropositivity were lack of education beyond the elementary level [odds ratio (OR) = 2.69; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.09-6.65] and pig-raising (OR = 1.68; CI = 0.96-2.92). Curiously, sheep-raising was inversely associated with human T. solium infection (OR = 0.50; CI = 0.28-0.90). The study site appears to be a new endemic focus for T. solium in the central Peruvian Andes. Although, in earlier studies, the seroprevalence of T. solium infection has generally been found to increase with age, the opposite trend was observed in the present study. The results of follow-up studies should help determine if the relatively high seroprevalence in the young subjects of the present study is the result of a transient antibody response.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)373-379
Number of pages7
JournalAnnals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology
Volume97
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2003

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