Economic losses resulting from food-borne parasitic zoonoses

Economic losses resulting from food-borne parasitic zoonoses are difficult to assess. Estimating the global economic impact of these diseases is handicapped by inadequate information on the prevalence and public health importance of parasitic zoonoses for most countries. However, the economic losses caused by certain zoonoses has been estimated for some regions and in these instances the costs are significant. In Mexico, for example, porcine cysticercosis is responsible for a loss of more than one-half of the national investment in swine production and for more than US$17 million annually in hospitalization and treatment costs for humans with neurocysticercosis. For all of Latin America, porcine cysticercosis accounts for an economic loss of US$164 million. In Africa, losses of one to two billion dollars per year due to bovine cysticercosis have been reported. Human toxoplasmosis in the United States is estimated to be an annual economic/public health burden of more than US$400 million. The implication from these examples and other are discussed. A set of recommendations is presented for obtaining the necessary information needed to permit assigning to food-borne parasitic zoonoses their appropriate priority within each country's complex economic and public health problems.