title: Taenia hydatigena in pigs in Burkina Faso: A cross-sectional abattoir study.
abstract: Taenia hydatigena is a non-zoonotic cestode that has canines as definitive hosts and ruminants and pigs as intermediate hosts. In pigs, its presence causes cross-reactivity in serological testing for Taenia solium cysticercosis. Therefore, knowledge on the occurrence of T. hydatigena is paramount for validly estimating the seroprevalence of T. solium cysticercosis in pigs. In a cross-sectional abattoir study, we estimated the prevalence of T. hydatigena in pigs slaughtered in Koudougou, Burkina Faso. Carcasses of 452 pigs were examined by investigators for perceived and suspected T. hydatigena cysticercus lesions in the abdominal cavity or on the surface of abdominal organs. Routine meat inspection was performed by local inspectors to identify T. solium cysticerci. All lesions were subjected to PCR-RFLP analysis in order to differentiate Taenia spp. Additionally, individual blood samples were examined for the presence of circulating cysticercus antigens using the B158/B60 Ag-ELISA. Perceived T. hydatigena cysticerci were found in 13 pigs, whereas meat inspectors found seven carcasses infected with T. solium cysticerci. All were confirmed by molecular analysis. Of pigs with other suspected lesions, mostly located in the liver, 27 and six were found to harbour T. hydatigena and T. solium cysticerci, respectively. Overall, 8.8% of pigs (40/452) were found infected with T. hydatigena and 2.9% (13/452) with T. solium. Of these positive pigs, one was found infected with both Taenia spp. (0.2%, 1/452). Blood samples of 48.5% of pigs (219/452) were positive in the Ag-ELISA. Pigs with confirmed cysts of T. hydatigena and T. solium had a positive Ag-ELISA result in 57.5% (23/40) and 61.5% (8/13) of cases, respectively. The observed T. hydatigena prevalence in this study is relatively high in comparison to other studies in Africa. Estimates of the occurrence of active porcine T. solium infection using the B158/B60 Ag-ELISA should therefore be adjusted for the presence of T. hydatigena. The low level of T. solium infection detected upon meat inspection in this study is likely an underestimation of the true prevalence since routine meat inspection shows poor sensitivity and pigs perceived to be infected based on tongue palpation are rarely sent to official abattoirs.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Veronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dermauw
authors.affiliation: AFRICSanté, 01 BP 298 Bobo Dioulasso 01, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Rasmané
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ganaba
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), Avenue de la Liberté, BP 545, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Assana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cissé
authors.affiliation: AFRICSanté, 01 BP 298 Bobo Dioulasso 01, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Boubacar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ouedraogo
authors.affiliation: University of Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Athanase
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Millogo
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), Avenue de la Liberté, BP 545, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Zékiba
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tarnagda
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Van Hul
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000, Antwerp, Belgium.|Ghent University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gabriël
authors.affiliation: University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, United States.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Carabin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dorny
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs; D034841:Abdominal Cavity / Q000469:parasitology; D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood; D002050:Burkina Faso / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008460:Meat / Q000469:parasitology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D015995:Prevalence; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D013621:Taenia / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D013622:Taeniasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D000909:Antibodies, Helminth
keywords: Burkina Faso; Cysticercosis; Pigs; Taenia hydatigena; Taenia solium