Recombinant Vaccine–Derived Poliovirus in Madagascar

TsCysti was exclusively endemic (2). The contaminated areas in Irian Jaya have increased from the central area (Paniai), to the east (Jayawijaya) (3), and then to the west (Manokwari), where 54 TsCysti cases have been reported (Papua Province Health Office Services, 1997, unpub. data). We wanted to know if taeniasis/cysticercosis had been introduced into the eastern half of New Guinea Island, called Papua New Guinea (PNG) (9). We had already serologically confirmed that 16 (3.0%) of 541 local residents and Irianese refugees in Alice River villages along the border in PNG had asymptomatic TsCysti (Ito et al., unpub. data). Follow-up surveys will be crucial in several other districts including Merauke District in Irian Jaya, PNG, and other islands such as Timor Island, where most of the population is Christian and many suspected cases have recently been reported by the District Health Office Services (10). Schoolchildren should also be checked so that cases can be detected and treated early. Sustainable education of the local community in Irian Jaya, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea is also necessary.