Seroprevalence of Taenia solium infections in Croatian patients presenting with epilepsy

Meštrović, Tomislav and Sviben, Mario and Vilibić-Čavlek, Tatjana and Ljubin-Sternak, Sunčanica and Tabain, Irena and Mlinarić-Galinović, Gordana (2012) Seroprevalence of Taenia solium infections in Croatian patients presenting with epilepsy. Journal of Helminthology, 86 (3). pp. 259-262. ISSN 0022-149X

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Abstract

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, while neurocysticercosis caused by Taenia solium infection of the central nervous system currently represents the leading cause of secondary epilepsy in Central and South America, East and South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. As a result of increased migration from these endemic regions, neurocysticercosis and subsequent epilepsy are becoming a growing public health problem in developed countries as well. In order to determine the prevalence of T. solium infection in patients with epilepsy in Croatia, a retrospective serological study was conducted. A total of 770 serum samples were tested for the presence of T. solium IgG antibodies using a commercial qualitative enzyme immunoassay. The Western blot technique was used as a confirmatory test for the diagnosis. The overall seroprevalence rate of T. solium infection in patients with clinically proven epilepsy was 1.5%. Although the results have shown that infection with this tapeworm is rare in Croatia, this study hopes to increase awareness about the importance of preventive measures and benefits of accurate and timely diagnosis. Intervention measures for infection control are crucial, namely sanitation improvement, control of domestic pig-breeding, detailed meat inspection, detection and treatment of tapeworm carriers, hand washing and health education.

Item Type: Article
MeSH: Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Animals ; Antibodies, Helminth / blood ; Blotting, Western ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Croatia / epidemiology ; Cysticercosis / complications ; Cysticercosis / epidemiology ; Cysticercosis / immunology ; Epilepsy / epidemiology ; Epilepsy / parasitology ; Humans ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Taenia solium / isolation & purification ; Young Adult
Departments: Katedra za medicinsku mikrobiologiju i parazitologiju
Depositing User: Marijan Šember
Status: Published
Creators:
CreatorsEmail
Meštrović, TomislavUNSPECIFIED
Sviben, MarioUNSPECIFIED
Vilibić-Čavlek, TatjanaUNSPECIFIED
Ljubin-Sternak, SunčanicaUNSPECIFIED
Tabain, IrenaUNSPECIFIED
Mlinarić-Galinović, GordanaUNSPECIFIED
Date: September 2012
Date Deposited: 07 Jan 2013 12:21
Last Modified: 09 Jul 2020 09:19
Subjects: /
Related URLs:
URI: http://medlib.mef.hr/id/eprint/1729

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