This PPT has been prepared for seminar in University of Gondar for the course Seminar on Animal Health. By: Kassahun Semie, FVM, Gondar, Ethiopia

1. REVIEW ON BOVINE CYSTICERCOSIS AND ITS
PUBLIC HEALTH IMPORTANCE IN ETHIOPIA
By
KASSAHUN SEMIE
May, 2014

2. INTRODUCTION
 Tapeworm infestation has been recorded in history 1500 years ago
as human parasitic disease.
 T. saginata is a worldwide zoonotic cestode affecting 55-77 million
individuals annually.
 T. saginata adult worms cause taeniasis in human.
 Bovine cysticercosis is a disease that affects the musculature of
cattle.
 It is caused by metacestode stage of T. saginata.

3. Con’t……..
 It is most prevalent in developing countries like Ethiopia.
 Deep rooted tradition and custom of eating raw and under cooked
meat, habit of open field defecation and free grazing made
taeniasis/bovine cysticercosis most prevalent in Ethiopia.
 Ethiopia is ideally placed to export live animals to Middle East
markets.
 But export earning is low due to presence of unimproved animal
health problems like bovine cysticercosis.

4. Objectives :
 To highlight the status bovine cysticercosis in Ethiopia.
 To review control and prevention strategies, and public health and
economic importance of the disease.

5. BOVINE CYSTICERCOSIS
ETIOLOGY
 Metacestode stage of human intestinal cestode, T. saginata.
 T. saginata is classified under:
Kingdom – Animalia
Phylum – Platyhelminthes
Class – Cestoda
Order – Cyclophyllidea
Family – Taeniidae
Genus – Taenia
Species – T. saginata

6. Morphology
 Adult T. saginata – commonly known as beef tapeworm:
large ribbon-shaped (usually 4-15 m long)
white flat worm
multisegmented
hermaphrodite
its body is divided into three distinct parts as:
head (scolex) – attachment organ provided with suckers
neck – short unsegmented organ
strobilla – chain of segments (proglottids)
 Eggs - sub spherical to spherical in shape
- measures about 30 – 45µm

7. Morphology…………..
 Eggs - contain- shell
- hexacanth embryo (oncosphere)
- thick and brown in color
- resistant to external environment
 Metacestode stage (larval stage) – commonly known as beef
measles or bladder worm
- small pea-sized
- oval in shape ss
- translucent scolex
- contain single white scolex

8. EPIDEMIOLOGY
Host range
♠ Adult – in intestinal tract of man (definitive host)
♠ Larval stage – musculature of cattle (intermediatehosts)
♠ Cattle of all ages are susceptible, but youngs are more
susceptible.
Geographic Distribution
♦ Worldwide
♦ Highly endemic in developing countries like Ethiopia.

9. Con’t………….
☞ In Ethiopia, taeniasis/bovine cysticercosis is common due to:
 customs of eating raw or under cooked beef dishes such
as kurt, lebleb and kitffo,
 Open field (under bush) defecation, and
 Free grazing.
☞ Estimates made by different investigators on prevalence of
taeniasis/bovine cysticercosis in Ethiopia vary widely
- from 2% - 16% to over 70%.

10. Distribution Of Metacestodes In Organs:
♠ Metacestode are found throughout edible parts which includes:
 Masseter muscles
 Cardiac muscles
 Triceps
 Thigh muscles
 Shoulder muscles
 Diaphragm
 Intercostal muscles
 Tongue
 Liver
 The tongue, masseter muscles, heart muscles, triceps muscles
and thigh muscles are the main predilection sites of the cyst.

11. Source of infection and Mode of transmission
 Man is the source of the parasite
 human habits are responsible for spread of BC
non-hygienic disposal of stool
usage of human sewage as fertilizer on pasture
☞these acts are responsible for cattle infection.
 Human infection perpetuates as a result of man’s custom
eating raw/under cooked beef
poor sanitation
♠In Ethiopia incidence of T.saginata taeniasis is high due to
♦ extensive cattle rearing system
♦ poor sanitation
♦ tradition of raw meat aeting

12. LIFE CYCLE

13. CLINICAL MANIFESTATION
 In human
 generally asymptomatic
 manifested as non specific GIT illness
 abdominal pain
 digestive disturbance
 nausea
 utilizes nutrition of man – leads to weight loss
 in large number – causes enteritis
 In cattle
 no clinical illness
 in heavy infection – causes myocarditis
- muscle stiffness

14. DIAGNOSIS
☞ In man
♠ no clear clinical picture
♠ diagnosis is based on
• laboratory findings
• stool examination for gravid proglottids
 for identification of T. saginata focus on
 proglottids – more than 13 uterine branches
 scolex – lacks hooks/rostellum
☞ In cattle
√ meat inspection – incise at the predilection muscles
√ immunological dx – using ELISA to detect a
antibodies like IgG

15. Differential dx
 Sarcocyst species – forms white soft nodules (protozoa)
-found mainly in esophagus
 Onchocerca dukei – nematode parasite
- nodules are firm to touch and reveal worms
upon sectioning
 Cysticercus dromedarius (C. cameli)
 metacestode of T. hyenae
 twice larger than C. bovis
 possesses double raw of hooks

16. TREATMENT
 Most widely used anticestodal drugs for Rx of human taeniasis in
Ethiopia are:
 niclosamide (@ dose rate of 2000mg)
 praziquantel (@ dose rate of 5 – 10)
☞ Many traditional herbal drugs are used by rural inhabitants in
Ethiopia. Some of them are:
♠ Enkoko – Embelia schimperi
♠ Kosso – Hygenia abyssinica
♠ Bisana – Corton macrustachy
♠ Duba firie – Cucurbita pepo: the pump kin
 In cattle – albendazole (50 mg per kg)
-Praziquantel (50 mg per kg)
- mebendazole (50 mg per kg)
 but they are not fully effective.

17. PUBLIC HEALTH IMPORTANCE
� Bovine cysticercosis is important zoonotic disease
� Pose variety of problems in man like:
 non specific intestinal disturbance – colic, discomfort
 non specific appetite change – increase or loss
 loss – due to abdominal pain and discomfort
 increase – in heavy infestation because they compete with
parasites for nutrients, they need to eat a lot
 body weakness, headaches, dizziness and delirium (mind disturbance)
 malnutrition – large no. of worms cause malabsorption
 poor hair quality – due to severe malnutrition (in children)
 intestinal blockage – due to massive infestation
 perinial or anal irritation – due to migrating proglottids
☞ Infected workers may absent from work or reduce their working
uneasiness lowers productivity.

18. Economic Importance
 Economic loss is determined by
 disease prevalence
 grade of animals infected – not fit for market
 potential market policy of cattle – export market
 treatment cost for live animals and detained carcass
 carcass condemination.

19. CONTROLAND PREVENTION
 In cattle
 improve livestock farming techniques – intensive
 reinforcement of veterinary inspection
 vaccination – under trial not marketed
 In human
 diagnose carriers and treat with taenicides
 improve personal hygiene
 installation of good sanitary accommodations
 enhance environmental hygiene
 public health education, stressing danger of raw meat
consumption
 mass education to use latrine

20. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
♠ Cysticercosis is important zoonotic disease that affects both human
and animal health
♠ Prevalence of the disease in Ethiopia is high and economically
significant
♠ customs of eating raw/under cooked meat, backyard slaughtering
especially in holydays, and lack of sanitation give a great favor for
continual existence of parasite/disease within human and animal
population.
☞ Based on the above conclusion the following recommendations are
forwarded:
 there should be public awareness about health and economic
importance of the disease through social and public media

21. Con’t
 avoid raw/undercooked meat
 infected meat and meat products should under go the
processes of boiling and freezing
 strong collaboration between medical and veterinary
professionals should exist to reduce impact of the disease
 the community should use latrines/toilets
 untreated human feces shouldn’t used as fertilizer on
pasture
 there should be strict meat inspection

22. “Eat healthily, sleep well, breathe
deeply, move harmoniously.”
Barral J.P

23. THANK YOU !