A study to detect human taeniasis and cysticercosis was conducted in 4 village communities served by the Bethanie clinic in the North West Province, based on reports of people being diagnosed there with epileptiform episodes. Many home owners in the villages rear pigs in small numbers for both meat availability and an immediate income from live pig or pig meat sales. The primary aim of the work was to conduct in the study area a census of all small scale pig producers and a survey of rural village consumers, both by means of a structured questionnaire. The former reviewed pig husbandry practices, slaughter and marketing of pigs and the latter provided information on pork consumption, sanitation as well as people's basic knowledge of Taenia solium. Stool samples from consenting participants were screened by a contracted approved laboratory for T. solium. A descriptive analysis of retrospective data was conducted at the Bethanie clinic to determine the proportional morbidity of neurocysticercosis from the medical records of patients diagnosed with seizures in an attempt to establish possible sources of infection and routes of transmission. In addition, the total pig population in the study area was determined more accurately and the prevalence of cysticercosis investigated in pigs subjected to meat inspection at an approved abattoir. The questionnaires revealed a poor understanding of the disease, poor sanitation and hygiene, poor methods of pig husbandry and poor meat inspection and control in rural smallholder communities. There was no significant statistical difference in the proportion of households reporting evidence of epilepsy and owning pigs and those that did not. There is a strong evidence of a tendency towards an association between epilepsy, consumption habits and some identified epidemiological risk factors

Bovine brucellosis affects food safety, food security and human health in rural communities in the North West Province, South Africa. The World Organisation for Animal Health suggests routine sero-surveillance and vaccination of cattle for control and to prevent zoonotic transmission. Although sero-surveillance and subsidised vaccination have been in place for decades, data from Bojanala have not previously been analysed. The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyse historical data on routine sero-surveillance of bovine brucellosis and state subsidised vaccination, in communal, commercial and dairy cattle in the study area. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional retrospective analysis of records from all adult cows bled by the state veterinary services during routine sero-surveillance for bovine brucellosis, in the Bojanala Region, North West Province, between 2009 and 2013. Fewer communal (N = 11 815) and dairy (N = 6696), than commercial beef (N = 28 251) cows, were tested. Overall herd prevalence (33.33%), differed significantly from individual prevalence (3.18%) in all groups. Communal herds had both the highest herd prevalence (38.8%) and the highest individual prevalence (5.2%). Both herd and individual sero-prevalence were lowest in dairy cattle, possibly because registered dairy herds are routinely tested. Over the 5-year study period, only 24 086 (7.15%) of the 342 500 cows eligible for free vaccination, were vaccinated. The annual number of cattle tested was highly variable. Dairy cattle that were regularly tested had a significantly lower herd and individual prevalence. Herd prevalence would be useful for spatial mapping, whilst individual prevalence could better reflect the risk of zoonotic transmission.