Resurgence of cases of epileptic seizures and burns associated with cysticercosis in Assologaima, Jayawijaya, Irian Jaya, Indonesia, 1991–1995

Abstract

Historically, neurocysticercosis (NCC) caused by the larval stage, cysticercus or cysticerci, of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium was recognized in Paniai District, western Irian Jaya Province, Indonesia, in the early 1970s. In the 1990s, we observed a rapid increase in the number of cases of epileptic seizures and burns in Assologaima Sub-District, Jayawijaya District, eastern Irian Jaya. There were totals of 1120 new cases of burns and 293 new cases of epileptic seizures during 1991-95 in Assologaima where the number of inhabitants was 15,939. Histopathological examination of resected cysts from patients and a pig revealed that they were cysticerci of T. solium. DNA analysis of these cysts revealed that the nucleotide sequences of 391 base-pair fragments of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene were exactly the same in those from patients and the pig. Although 3 of 391 base-pair fragments might differ from that of T. solium reported previously, there were no differences in the amino-acid sequences. Approximately 67% and 65% of persons with epileptic seizures and with subcutaneous nodules, respectively, showed antibody responses highly specific to cysticercosis. Therefore, most cases of epileptic seizures and burns were considered to be associated with cysticercosis in Irian Jaya.

High prevalence of Taenia saginata taeniasis and status of Taenia solium cysticercosis in Bali, Indonesia, 2002–2004

“…In Indonesia, there are three known endemic provinces for taeniasis/cysticercosis: Bali, Irian Jaya (Papua) and North Sumatra (Handali et al, 1997;Simanjuntak et al, 1997;Wandra et al, 2000Wandra et al, , 2003Margono et al, 2001;Ito et al, 2002Ito et al, , 2003Ito et al, , 2004. Taeniasis, either due to Taenia saginata and/or Taenia solium in East Nusa Tenggara and South-East Sulawesi were reported to be 7.0% (31/445) in 1975 (Simanjuntak et al, 1997) and 0.4%…”

Focus of human trichinellosis in Papua New Guinea.

“…27 The absence of T. solium infection in the Bensbach area of PNG indicates that the infection in West Papua has not spread from the highlands to the southern lowlands, west of the international border, where the villages in the current investigation are located. The small number of domestic pigs that are usually kept penned would hinder spread of cysticercosis in the Bensbach area, as would the low population density (ϳ 1 person per square kilometer).…”

Epidemiology of Neurocysticercosis in Mexico: From a Public Health Problem to Its Control

“…Some 18-20% of the population acquired cysticercosis. The disease was detected by an epidemic of severe burns resulting from convulsions manifested while the people were sleeping around house fires; individuals also had subcutaneous nodules [20]. Between the 1940's and 1970's several reports of human necropsies performed in Latin America revealed the presence of cysticerci in the brain with different frequencies, so high that NCC is considered a public health problem in some countries [15,21,22].…”