Scenario of porcine cysticercosis and human taeniasis in Maharashtra State, India

Cysticercosis/taeniasis is one of the neglected parasitic zoonoses in developing countries like India. A study was conducted for a period of 7 years from 2010 to 2017 during which 13,596 pig and 1238 human samples were screened to learn the exact scenario of cysticercosis/taeniasis in the different regions of Maharashtra State. Prevalence of cysticercosis/taeniasis in pigs and humans was recorded using various diagnostic methods such as meat inspection and serological methods involving ELISA. The overall prevalence of cysticercosis in pigs was found to be 0.88% by postmortem examination and 0.9% by PCR assay, whereas prevalence of taeniasis in humans was 3.15% by ELISA and 2.04% by PCR. As compared to the previous reports from the state, the findings of the present study revealed a lowered prevalence of the disease in both the human and the pig population. It was concluded that the declining trend of cysticercosis in Maharashtra State was the outcome of the implementation of appropriate and sustainable public health interventions achieved through demonstrations and the distribution of booklets in the vernacular language.