Occurrence of Cysticercus tenuicollis infection in regularly slaughtered pigs in Italy

Cysticercus tenuicollis, the larval stage of the taeniid tapeworm Taenia hydatigena, infects intermediatehosts mainly represented by domestic and wild ruminants (sheep, cattle, pigs), while the adultform is typically found in the small intestine of dogs, wolves and other wild carnivores. A long-term surveywas carried out to evaluate the occurrence of C. tenuicollis in regularly slaughtered pigs in Italy betweenthe years 2000-2008. The study was conducted through morphological investigations and molecularmethods. The rrnS and nad1 mitochondrial genes were chosen as molecular markers and the assignmentto species was achieved by comparison of the obtained sequences with available sequences in Gen-Bank. The present study evidenced that the liver is not the elective organ for C. tenuicollis as so farreported. Moreover the slaughterhouse has a fundamental role as epidemiological observatory and thepresence/absence of this parasite may be used as an indicator of the state of the hygiene of farming.[...