Taenia solium cysticercosis and taeniasis in urban settings: Epidemiological evidence from a health-center based study among people with epilepsy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2019 Dec 6;13(12):e0007751. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007751. eCollection 2019 Dec.

Abstract

In Africa, urbanization is happening faster than ever before which results in new implications for transmission of infectious diseases. For the zoonotic parasite Taenia solium, a major cause of acquired epilepsy in endemic countries, the prevalence in urban settings is unknown. The present study investigated epidemiological, neurological, and radiological characteristics of T. solium cysticercosis and taeniasis (TSCT) in people with epilepsy (PWE) living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, one of the fastest growing cities worldwide. A total of 302 PWE were recruited from six health centers in the Kinondoni district of Dar es Salaam. Serological testing for T. solium cysticercosis-antigen (Ag) and -antibodies (Abs) and for T. solium taeniasis-Abs was performed in all PWE. In addition, clinical and radiological examinations that included cranial computed tomography (CT) were performed. With questionnaires, demographic data from study populations were collected, and factors associated with TSCT were assessed. Follow-up examinations were conducted in PWE with TSCT. T. solium cysticercosis-Ag was detected in three (0.99%; 95% CI: 0-2.11%), -Abs in eight (2.65%; 95% CI: 0.84-4.46%), and taeniasis-Abs in five (1.66%; 95% CI: 0.22-3.09%) of 302 PWE. Six PWE (1.99%; 95% CI: 0.41-3.56%) were diagnosed with neurocysticercosis (NCC). This study demonstrates the presence of TSCT in Dar es Salaam, however, NCC was only associated with a few cases of epilepsy. The small fraction of PWE with cysticercosis- and taeniasis-Abs may suggest that active transmission of T. solium plays only a minor role in Dar es Salaam. A sufficiently powered risk analysis was hampered by the small number of PWE with TSCT; therefore, further studies are required to determine the exact routes of infection and risk behavior of affected individuals.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Animals
  • Child
  • Cities / epidemiology
  • Cysticercosis / complications*
  • Cysticercosis / diagnostic imaging
  • Cysticercosis / epidemiology*
  • Cysticercosis / pathology
  • Epilepsy / diagnostic imaging
  • Epilepsy / epidemiology*
  • Epilepsy / etiology*
  • Epilepsy / pathology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prevalence
  • Risk Assessment
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Taenia solium / isolation & purification*
  • Tanzania / epidemiology
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Urban Population*
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the German Research Foundation, DFG, (URL: http://www.dfg.de (http://www.dfg.eu)) within the research grant (BR3752/1-1) “Neurocysticercosis in sub-Saharan Africa”. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.