Are we ready for Taenia solium cysticercosis elimination in sub-Saharan Africa?

Maria Vang Johansen, Chiara Trevisan, Sarah Gabriël, Pascal Magnussen, Uffe Christian Braae

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

The World Health Organization announced in November 2014 at the fourth international meeting on ‘the control of neglected zoonotic diseases – from advocacy to action’, that intervention tools for eliminating Taenia solium taeniosis/cysticercosis (TSTC) are in place. The aim of this work was to elucidate theoretical outcomes of various control options suggested for TSTC elimination in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over a 4-year period. Our current knowledge regarding T. solium epidemiology and control primarily builds on studies from Latin America. A simple transmission model – built on data from Latin America – has been used to predict the effect of various interventions such as mass treatment of humans, vaccination and treatment of pigs, and health education of communities, potentially leading to change in bad practices and reducing transmission risks. Based on simulations of the transmission model, even a 4-year integrated One Health approach fails to eliminate TSTC from a small community and in all simulations, the prevalence of human taeniosis and porcine cysticercosis start to rise as soon as the programmes end. Our current knowledge regarding transmission and burden of TSTC in SSA is scarce and while claiming to be tool ready, the selection of diagnostic and surveillance
tools, as well as the algorithms and stepwise approaches for control and elimination of TSTC remain major challenges.
Original languageEnglish
JournalParasitology
Volume144
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)59-64
Number of pages6
ISSN0031-1820
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2017

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