title: Taenia hydatigena cysticercosis in slaughtered pigs, goats, and sheep in Tanzania.
abstract: Few studies have been carried out in Africa to estimate the prevalence of Taenia hydatigena. With the aim to determine the prevalence of T. hydatigena in slaughtered pigs and small ruminants (goats and sheep) in Mbeya, Tanzania, two cross-sectional surveys were carried out investigating pigs in April to May 2014 and small ruminants in September 2012. In total, 243 pigs were examined post-mortem for T. hydatigena cysts which were found in 16 (6.6 %) pigs. The majority (80 %) of cysts were found on the omentum and the rest on the liver (20 %), all on the visceral surface. Two pigs were also found infected with Taenia solium but showed no signs of other infections. A total of 392 goats and 27 sheep were examined post-mortem, and the prevalence of T. hydatigena was similar in goats and sheep with 45.7 and 51.9 %, respectively. DNA sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (cox1) from a subsample of metacestodes from goats and sheep confirmed the T. hydatigena infection. The prevalence found in small ruminants was comparable to other studies conducted in Africa, but for pigs, it is one of the highest recorded to date. The present study also confirms the occurrence of T. hydatigena and T. solium in pigs from Mbeya. Further studies are needed to determine the impact of T. hydatigena on production under sub-Saharan conditions and the financial consequences for smallholder farmers.
authors.affiliation: Section for Parasitology and Aquatic Diseases, Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Dyrlægevej 100, DK-1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark. braae@sund.ku.dk.
authors.forename: Uffe Christian
authors.initials: UC
authors.lastname: Braae
authors.affiliation: Tanzania Livestock Research Institute (TALIRI), Uyole, P.O. Box 6191, Mbeya, Tanzania.|Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3019, Morogoro, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Mwemezi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kabululu
authors.affiliation: Section for Parasitology and Aquatic Diseases, Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Dyrlægevej 100, DK-1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Michelle Elisabeth
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Nørmark
authors.affiliation: Section for Parasitology and Aquatic Diseases, Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Dyrlægevej 100, DK-1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nejsum
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3021, Morogoro, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Helena Aminel
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Ngowi
authors.affiliation: Section for Parasitology and Aquatic Diseases, Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Dyrlægevej 100, DK-1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Maria Vang
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Johansen
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D000818:Animals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003551:Cysticercosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D006041:Goats / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D012756:Sheep / Q000469:parasitology; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D034561:Sheep, Domestic / Q000469:parasitology*; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000469:parasitology; D013552:Swine / Q000469:parasitology; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D041201:Taenia solium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013636:Tanzania / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Cysticercosis; Pigs; Prevalence; Small ruminants; Taenia hydatigena; Tanzania