Taenia solium Cysticercosis, Irian Jaya, Indonesia

To the Editor: Cysticercosis, a tissue infection caused by accidental ingestion of eggs released from humans harboring the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium (TsCysti), is one of the most serious reemerging parasitic diseases worldwide (1). Taeniasis is an intestinal infection caused by the adult stage of the large tapeworm. Carriers of T. solium acquire infection through eating undercooked pork contaminated with cysticerci (larvae). Although most Indonesian people are Muslim and do not eat pork, infection with T. solium has occurred in some areas or islands where most local people are Christian or Hindi. The area most affected by this infection is Irian Jaya, Indonesia, the western half of New Guinea Island (2–4). In field surveys conducted in 2000 and 2001, we found that 5 (8.6%) of 58 local people and 7 (11%) of 64 local dogs living approximately 1 km from the local capital city, Wamena, in Jayawijaya District, harbored adult tapeworms and cysticerci of T. solium, respectively (5,6). We have further seroepidemiologic data from 1996 and molecular confirmation of subcutaneous nodules (SCN) as cysticerci of the T. solium Asian genotype. We believe this organism is an emergent problem in Irian Jaya. We previously reported that TsCysti was highly endemic in Jayawijaya District, Irian Jaya (2–6). A total of 96 local people >18 years of age from Assologaima, Jayawijaya District, were chosen at random and examined by serologic testing and by administering questionnaires in February 1996 after the local and Indonesian governments gave their ethical approval. The 96 persons were divided into three groups on the basis of a history of epileptic seizures (ES, n=17), physical examination of SCN by palpation (n=32), or good health (including no ES or SCN; n=47). A total of 14 subcutaneous nodules removed from 14 men in both ES and SCN groups were confirmed to be cysticerci of T. solium by morpholog-ic observation and to be T. solium Asian genotype by mitochondrial DNA analysis with cytochrome c oxi-dase subunit 1 gene (3,7). For serolog-ic analysis, we conducted an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that used glycoproteins purified from cyst fluid of T. solium cysticerci by preparative isoelectric focusing (fractions of pH 9. healthy groups, respectively, were infected with the larval stage of T. solium. Serologically positive rates increased to 83.3% (10/12) of people with subcutaneous nodules in the ES group. A follow-up study of seroposi-tive persons in the healthy group in 1997 showed that five of eight …