Abstract:
The objective of this epidemiological study was to determine whether cysticercosis and especially neurocysticercosis
is endemic in Soutou village about half a century after the 1962 outbreak. This study was carried
out from September 2009 to February 2010. It involved a questionnaire administration, serology, treatment,
coproscopy and neuro-imaging. Four hundred and three serum samples were collected from the village
people, which covered 94% of the village population. By using a parallel combination of the antigen-detection
ELISA and the enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot (EITB) a cysticercosis sero-prevalence of 11.9% (95%
CI: 8.9-15.4%) was found. Cerebral CT-scans showed that 23.3% (10/43) of the seropositives were affected by
neurocysticercosis. Four out of these 43 (9.3%) were tapeworm carriers. Seropositivity was significantly
associated to older age groups (41-60 years old; p = 0.001 and 61-91 years old; p = 0.028) and absence of a
household toilet (p = 0.001). It can be concluded that Soutou village is an active focus of Taenia solium
cysticercosis about 50 years after the first reported epidemic outbreak.
