No Confirmed Cases of Taenia solium Taeniasis in a Group of Recently Arrived Sub-Saharan Migrants to Italy

Lorenzo Zammarchi; Marta Tilli; Antonia Mantella; Annarita Botta; Alessandra Nicoletti; Héctor Hugo García; Yesenia Castillo; Donatella Aquilini; Sara Boccalini; Alessandro Bartoloni

doi:10.3390/pathogens8040296

No Confirmed Cases of Taenia solium Taeniasis in a Group of Recently Arrived Sub-Saharan Migrants to Italy

Pathogens. 2019 Dec 14;8(4):296. doi: 10.3390/pathogens8040296.

Authors

Lorenzo Zammarchi^{1

2

3}, Marta Tilli¹, Antonia Mantella¹, Annarita Botta¹, Alessandra Nicoletti⁴, Héctor Hugo García^{5

6}, Yesenia Castillo^{5

6}, Donatella Aquilini⁷, Sara Boccalini⁸, Alessandro Bartoloni^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy.
² Infectious and Tropical Diseases Unit, Careggi University and Hospital, 50134 Florence, Italy.
³ Referral Center for Tropical Diseases of Tuscany Region, Careggi University Hospital, 50134 Florence, Italy.
⁴ Department "GF Ingrassia", Section Neuroscience, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy.
⁵ Department of Microbiology and Center for Global Health-Tumbes, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima 15102, Peru.
⁶ Cysticercosis Unit, National Institute of Neurological Sciences, Lima 15102, Peru.
⁷ Infectious Diseases Unit, Hospital of Prato, 59100 Prato, Italy.
⁸ Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy.

Abstract

One-hundred and sixty-four migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa to Italy were screened with the Taenia solium specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay coproantigen (ELISA CoAg) and four (2.4%) were recorded as positive, but with optical density values near to the cut-off. No ELISA CoAg positive samples were confirmed by parasitological methods. Low positivity could be attributed to false positive result or cross-reaction with other Taenia species. Further studies are needed to assess the role of migration on sporadic autochthonous transmission of T. solium taeniasis/cysticercosis in Europe.

Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa; Taenia solium; cysticercosis; migrants; neurocysticercosis; taeniasis.