Abstract:
Background Seroprevalence of porcine cysticercosis has been generally studied using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays
(ELISA) detecting either antigens or antibodies in sera. However, serum is not always readily available. The objective of this
study was to assess the diagnostic potential of meat juice in detecting porcine cysticercosis using a cysticercosis antibody
ELISA.
Methods Sera and meat juice samples from 13 different organs/tissues were collected from nine pigs naturally infected with
cysticercosis and from six uninfected pigs reared under hygienic conditions. The sensitivity of the cysticercosis antibody
ELISA in detecting porcine cysticercosis in meat juice samples was compared to that in serum samples from the same pigs.
Results Using sera, cysticercosis was detected in all nine pigs harbouring cysticerci, but not in those reared under hygienic
conditions. The sensitivity of the ELISA was highest in meat juice extracted from the diaphragm (100%), heart (89%) and
neck muscle (78%) of the nine infected pigs, whereas it varied between 0 and 44% in the other samples.
Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study for T. solium cysticercosis serology to use meat juice. Our
results show that meat juice from pig carcass organs or muscles is a promising diagnostic specimen for the detection of
porcine cysticercosis. More studies including a large sample size of pigs with varying degrees of cysticercosis infection are
needed to further prove this concept.
