SummaryTaenia solium, a human cestode parasite endemic throughout most of South-east Asia, causes a number of public health and economic problems. The parasite is endemic in Bali due to a mix of cultural and religious practices. Immunoepidemiological investigation of three rural communities revealed a taeniasis prevalence of 0.72% (3/415). One of the three cases was due to Taenia solium, the other two to Taenia saginata. A further nine cases of Taenia infection were identified from patients from villages surrounding the chosen communities, suggesting that prevalence levels may be higher in other areas. Seroprevalence of human cysticercosis by immunoblot was 1.65% (6/363), though all cases were detected within a single community (6/115; prevalence 5.22%). Several other cases of subcutaneous cysticercosis were identified from local clinics, suggesting continued transmission of Taenia solium in the region. Other intestinal helminth parasites identified within the communities were Ascaris lumbricoides (29.9%), Trichuris trichiuria (33.9%) and hookworm (8.2%).

A lentil-lectin purified glycoprotein (LL-Gp) and a crude saline extract of Taenia solium metacestodes were compared for the immunodiagnosis of human cysticercosis by immunoblotting. The LL-Gp preparation was 95% sensitive for antibodies against a range of seven antigens with molecular masses of 50 to 13 kDa, whereas the sensitivity of the crude saline extract for the detection of antibodies against two major polypeptide molecules (26 and 8 kDa) was 91%. Specificity was 100% with both sets of diagnostic antigens. Affinity-purified antibodies against the 26-kDa molecule from the crude saline extract recognized the 24-kDa diagnostic region in the LL-Gp-purified extract and vice versa, suggesting that the antigens had common epitopes recognized by cysticercotic sera. In addition, in a preliminary community study of 115 randomly selected people from Bali (Indonesia), seroprevalence by immunoblot assay varied from 7.8% (with the crude saline antigen extract) to 9.6% (with the LL-Gp-purified extract). The results of this study demonstrate that both antigenic preparations are applicable for the immunodiagnosis of T. solium cysticercosis. The crude T. solium metacestode antigen extract was as specific as the purified LL-Gp T. solium metacestode extract and simpler to produce but slightly less sensitive.

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Taeniasis is an infectious disease caused by the tapeworm taenia saginata (beef tapeworm), Taenia solium (pork tapeworm), and taenia asiatica (Asian tapeworm). Purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between meat consumption, individual characteristics, and environmental factors with taeniasis. Case-control study was used to identify taeniasis among two groups: people living at Datah village (personal livestock) and people living at Karangasem village (obtained their meat from traditional market or slaughterhouse). Each group consisted of 98 people. Two subjects from the case group were positive for taenia egg both by direct smear and Willy's Malory floatation methods. Prevalence of taeniasis in the case group was 2.04% and 0.00% in the control group (p=0.001). Keywords