Use of Oxfendazole to Control Porcine Cysticercosis in a High-Endemic Area of Mozambique

A randomized controlled field trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a single oral dose of 30 mg/kg of oxfendazole (OFZ) treatment for control of porcine cysticercosis was conducted in 4 rural villages of Angónia district, north-western Mozambique. Two hundred and sixteen piglets aged 4 months were selected and assigned randomly to OFZ treatment or control groups. Fifty-four piglets were treated at 4 months of age (T1), while another 54 piglets were treated at 9 months of age (T2) and these were matched with 108 control pigs from the same litters and raised under the same conditions. Baseline data were collected on the prevalence of porcine cysticercosis using antigen ELISA (Ag-ELISA), as well as knowledge and practices related to Taenia solium transmission based on questionnaire interviews and observations. All animals were followed and re-tested for porcine cysticercosis by Ag-ELISA at 9 and 12 months of age when the study was terminated. Overall prevalence at baseline was 5.1% with no significant difference between groups. At the end of the study, 66.7% of the controls were found positive, whereas 21.4% of the T1 and 9.1% of the T2 pigs were positive, respectively. Incidence rates of porcine cysticercosis were lower in treated pigs as compared to controls. Necropsy of 30 randomly selected animals revealed that viable cysts were present in none (0/8) of T2 pigs, 12.5% (1/8) of T1 pigs and 42.8% (6/14) of control pigs. There was a significant reduction in the risk of T. solium cysticercosis if pigs were treated with OFZ either at 4 months (OR = 0.14; 95% CI: 0.05–0.36) or at 9 months of age (OR = 0.05; 95% CI: 0.02–0.16). Strategic treatment of pigs in endemic areas should be further explored as a means to control T. solium cysticercosis/taeniosis. Author Summary: Porcine cysticercosis is an infection of pigs caused by the larval stage of Taenia solium, a tapeworm that causes taeniosis in humans. The disease is very common in developing countries where it is a serious public health risk and causes significant economic losses in pig production. Many control strategies in developing countries have been of limited impact mainly due to poor socioeconomic and sanitary conditions. An effective treatment of infected pigs using inexpensive drugs may have potential as a long term control tool. We performed a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of oxfendazole treatment for control of porcine cysticercosis. We evaluated the prevalence and incidence of the disease in groups of pigs treated at 4 and 9 months of age and untreated pigs. We found that the prevalence and incidence of the disease in treated pigs was significantly lower than in untreated pigs. We conclude that treatment of pigs with oxfendazole in the last part of the fattening period is cost-effective in controlling porcine cysticercosis in endemic low-income areas but should be integrated with other control measures.