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Evidence of human neurocysticercosis in Slovenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 November 2013

BARBARA ŠOBA ,
BOJANA BEOVIĆ ,
ZALA LUŽNIK ,
MIHA SKVARČ  and
JERNEJ LOGAR
BARBARA ŠOBA
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
BOJANA BEOVIĆ
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Japljeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
ZALA LUŽNIK
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Japljeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
MIHA SKVARČ
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
JERNEJ LOGAR*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
*
* Corresponding author: Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. E-mail: jernej.logar@mf.uni-lj.si
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Summary

To assess the prevalence of Taenia solium cysticercosis in patients with neurological disorders in Slovenia, serum/cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 348 suspected patients were collected between the beginning of January 2001 and the end of December 2012 and analysed serologically for the presence of anti-T. solium IgG antibodies. Of 20 patients whose samples tested positive or equivocal by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), samples of 7 patients were confirmed positive by Western blot (WB). The overall seroprevalence rate of T. solium infection in patients with neurological disorders included in the study was 2.0%. Serological results of positive patients corresponded to clinical and/or imaging findings concerning their brain cysts. Based on their personal data, it was ascertained that neurocysticercosis (NCC) positive patients had immigrated or came to Slovenia from the former Yugoslav republics. Since the disease is believed not to be endemic in Slovenia we assume that all of the NCC-positive patients had acquired the infection before immigration to Slovenia or visiting or being visited by their relatives infected with an adult T. solium parasite. The present results represent the first insight into the prevalence of NCC in patients with neurological disorders in Slovenia.

Keywords

neurocysticercosisseroprevalenceenzyme-linked immunosorbent assayWestern blotSlovenia
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 141 , Issue 4 , April 2014 , pp. 547 - 553
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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