The transmission of the zoonotic pork tapeworms Taenia solium and T. asiatica depends on a combination of specific risk factors, such as open defecation, backyard pig raising and the consumption of raw or undercooked pork and viscera. A community-based survey was conducted among 289 households in south-eastern Nepal to study the heterogeneity of these risk factor frequencies as a function of th...

Several topics on taeniasis and cysticercosis in Asia and the Pacific are overviewed. In Asia and the Pacific, three human taeniid species have been recognized: Taenia solium, Taenia saginata and Taenia asiatica. The first topic is on evolution of T. solium. Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms of T. solium worldwide are discussed with emphasis of two specific genotypes: American-African and Asian. ...

BACKGROUND The purposes of the present study were morphometric characterization of rostellar hooks of Taenia multiceps and to investigate the association of hook length variation and the variability within two mitochondrial genes of sheep isolates of the parasite. METHODS Up to 4500 sheep brains were examined for the presence of C. cerebralis. Biometric characters based on the larval rostella...

An epidemiological survey of taeniasis/cysticercosis was carried out in one semi-urban and two urban villages in three districts of Bali, Indonesia in 2002 and 2004. In total, 398 local people from 247 families were diagnosed by anamnesis and clinical examinations, and 60 residents were suspected to be taeniasis carriers. Among 60 suspected carriers, 56 persons expelled a total of 61 taeniid ad...

This is the first study concerning the features of the reproduction process of the karyologically identified spined loach C. taenia (2n=48). The histology of 71 ovaries, and gonadosomatic index (GSI) of karyologically identified spined loach Cobitis taenia L. from Lake Klawój (Northern Poland) were examined. The absolute and relative fecundity of 25 females was estimated by gravimetric method. ...

The effect of chloroform soluble fraction (F-A) of twigs of Sarcostemma brevistigma on contractions induced by KCl, histamine, and acetylcholine in the isolated guinea pig ileum and taenia coli smooth muscles has been evaluated. F-A (19.5 microg/ml) significantly inhibited the contraction induced by 40 mM KCl to the extent of 87.6% in the isolated guinea pig ileum. In the isolated guinea pig il...

We investigated which isoform of protein kinase C (PKC) is responsible to metabolic inhibition in the guinea pig taenia caeci with respect to their phosphorylation levels. By Western blot analysis using isoform-specific antibodies, at least four isoforms of PKC, alpha, beta2, epsilon and zeta were identified in the taenia. Prolonged metabolic inhibition of hypoxia, hypoxia+glucose depletion, an...

We investigated which isoform of protein kinase C (PKC) is responsible to metabolic inhibition i the guinea pig taenia caeci with respect to their phosphorylation levels. By Western blot analysis using isoform-specific antibodies, at least four isoforms of PKC, ct, 62, E and C were identified in the taenia. Prolonged metabolic inhibitlon of hypoxia, hypoxia+glucose depletion, and addition of cy...

A lentil-lectin purified glycoprotein (LL-Gp) and a crude saline extract of Taenia solium metacestodes were compared for the immunodiagnosis of human cysticercosis by immunoblotting. The LL-Gp preparation was 95% sensitive for antibodies against a range of seven antigens with molecular masses of 50 to 13 kDa, whereas the sensitivity of the crude saline extract for the detection of antibodies ag...