| Summary: | Taenia solium and Taenia saginata cestode infections are unique parasitic zoonoses. Man is the definitive host of the adult intestinal stage and the larval stages may occur in both animals and humans (T. solium). Infection with these two Taenia species is widely prevalent in swine, cattle and human populations in many tropical and sub-tropical African, Asian and Latin American countries. A third species T. asiatica (Eom and Rim, 1993) occurs in Southeast Asia and appears to be transmitted between humans and pigs. Cysticercosis and taeniosis are endemic in countries where poverty is high, access to safe and basic sanitation is poor or not available, and where swine and cattle husbandry methods are traditional and limited (Sarti et al., 1992; Allan and Craig, 1994; Flisser, 1994; Lloyd, 1998; Sarti et al., 1999). Developing countries are however not completely free of Taenia infections (Llose et al., 1990; Kyvsgaard et al., 1990, 1991; Schantz, 1998) and the use of sewage sludge as a fertiliser for pasture seems to be a major risk factor for T. saginata infection in cattle in Europe (Cabaret et al., 2002). Taeniosis and cysticercosis affect approximately about 100 million people worldwide WHO/FAO/OIE (2005) and are now regarded as potential emerging or re-emerging zoonoses in several underdeveloped or developed communities (Schantz et al., 1992; Moore et al., 1995; Craig et al., 1996; Schantz, 1998; DeGiorgio et al., 2005; Sorvillo et al., 2007).
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