Dealing With The ‘Orphan Disease'

Neurocysticercosis, caused by a tapeworm that cycles between humans and pigs, is a leading source of serious neurological disorders such as seizures in people living in certain rural settings, writes Roelof Bezuidenhout.

- Roelof Bezuidenhout

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is an infection of the central nervous system by larval cysts of the zoonotic cestode (tapeworm) Taenia solium. It is considered one of the most neglected (or ‘orphan’) zoonotic diseases in the world and is a challenge globally, most often in resource-poor communities that live in close contact with their livestock.

“It is most often a problem in conditions where pigs are free-ranging and living in close contact with humans, and where human waste hygiene and sanitation is a challenge,” says Caryn Shacklock, laboratory manager at Afrivet.

“Of the estimated 50 million people with epilepsy in the world today, 80% live in areas infested with