Risks of Taenia solium cysticercosis in urban and peri-urban areas of Kampala, Uganda

Abstract

In developing countries, cities are rapidly expanding, and over 50% of Africa’s population is estimated to live in or around cities by 2025 (United Nations 2002). To feed these growing city populations, urban and peri-urban agriculture has become part of the development agenda (FAO 2000). However, it also carries risks of the transmission of zoonotic diseases (Flynn 1999), for example Taenia solium (T. solium) cysticercosis. The usual life cycle of this parasite is maintained between pigs in their muscle (cysticerci) and humans intestine (taeniasis), however, ingestion of the eggs causes human neurocysticercosis, the major symptom being epilepsy (Burneo & Garcia 2001). This study aimed to understand the risks of T. solium cysticercosis, the single most common cause of acquired epilepsy, in urban and peri-urban areas of Kampala, Uganda, where the pig population is more than two times larger than any other Eastern and Southern African countries (FAO 2002).