Helminth Zoonoses

Book excerpt: In spite of the availability of modern broad-spectrum anthelmintic drugs, the prevention and control of helminth zoonoses remain a challenge to human and veterinary parasitologists and to physicians and veterina­ rians working on the field. Although the life cycles of most helminths of zoonotic importance are well known, there are still major gaps in our knowledge especially in the fields of epidemiology, diagnosis and treat­ ment The International Colloquium on Helminth Zoonoses held at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, 11-12 December 1986, laid emphasis on more recent advances made in the control and epidemiology of these zoonotic diseases. The disease complexes echinococcosis/hydatidosis, taeniasis/cysticercosis and the larva migrans-syndrome were dealth with in considerable detail. In the first chapter the phenomenon of strain variation in Echinococcus spp. is examined in the light of newer findings. The progress made in recent years towards a more specific diagnosis and drug targeting in hydatidosis is reported. In the second chapter recent advances in immunisation and treatment of cysticercosis are dealt with. The possibili­ ty of the existence of strain differences in Taenia saginata is also dis­ cussed. The third chapter is devoted to trematode zoonoses with particular reference to the situation in South-east Asia, Senegal (schistosomiasis) and Liberia (paragonimiasis). In the last chapter the larva migrans­ syndrome is treated in detail with special attention to its etiology and and diagnosis. Reports on lesser known nematode zoonoses like mammomono­ gamosis and oesophagostomiasis are included.