Epidemiology of Taenia saginata taeniosis/cysticercosis: a systematic review of the distribution in East, Southeast and South Asia.
BACKGROUND
Taenia saginata is an important zoonotic parasite, causing taeniosis in humans and cysticercosis in bovines, the latter being a significant concern for the global beef industry. Many countries in East, Southeast and South Asia are experiencing rapid economic growth, and an increasing number of people in these countries are dependent on the livestock industry. Currently, however, an overview of the prevalence of T. saginata in this region is lacking. In this review, we analysed the available literature on T. saginata taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis for East, Southeast and South Asia.


METHODS
A systematic review was conducted, based on both published and grey literature. Articles published between 1990 and 2017 were mined for information on the occurrence, prevalence, and geographical distribution of T. saginata taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis in East, Southeast and South Asia.


RESULTS
The presence of T. saginata was described in 15 of 27 countries of the region, including Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The only country that reported an absence of T. saginata is Japan, although sporadic reports of imported cases and unconfirmed reports of autochthonous infections were identified. Nationwide surveys of taeniosis with systematic sample collection and high sample numbers were available for Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, and South Korea, although speciation of Taenia was not always performed. Regional prevalence of taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis in endemic regions ranged between 0.02-42.6%, and 0.76-46.7%, respectively. However, data for bovine cysticercosis were only available for five countries (Japan, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Pakistan and Vietnam).


CONCLUSIONS
The data indicate a widespread occurrence of T. saginata throughout East, Southeast and South Asia. Identification of Taenia spp. in human infections was frequently not performed, leading to gaps in knowledge about the distribution of human tapeworm infections, mainly in regions where different human Taenia species co-occur. A high prevalence of T. saginata taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis may reflect insufficiencies in sanitation, limited health education standards, and insufficient food safety measures. Therefore, there is a need to improve local surveillance, notification, and overall control systems.
['Eichenberger|Ramon M|RM|', 'Thomas|Lian F|LF|', 'Gabriël|Sarah|S|', 'Bobić|Branco|B|', 'Devleesschauwer|Brecht|B|', 'Robertson|Lucy J|LJ|', 'Saratsis|Anastasios|A|', 'Torgerson|Paul R|PR|', 'Braae|Uffe C|UC|', 'Dermauw|Veronique|V|', 'Dorny|Pierre|P|']
D000818:Animals D001210:Asia, Southeastern D002417:Cattle D002418:Cattle Diseases D003551:Cysticercosis D005202:Far East D005247:Feeding Behavior D006801:Humans D007194:India D058751:Livestock D008461:Meat Products D009390:Nepal D010154:Pakistan D015995:Prevalence D011634:Public Health D013621:Taenia D041202:Taenia saginata D013622:Taeniasis D015047:Zoonoses
Taenia saginata Taeniosis South Asia Bovine cysticercosis Beef tapeworm Cestode East Asia Foodborne pathogen Southeast Asia Zoonosis