Public health significance of zoonotic tapeworms in Korea

Through an epidemiological review on the zoonotic tapeworms in Korea, the frequency and severity of the zoonoses have been recognized. Taeniasis and human cysticercosis are of importance to the public health in Korea. The frequency of taeniasis is 0.3% to 12.7% discovered by stool examination and 4.5% to 38.0% discovered by questionaire survey. Taeniasis occurs more frequently in males than in females and, especially, in both sexes in the age-group of 20 to 49. T. saginata is more common that T. solium. No case of human cysticercosis caused by T.saginata has been reported in Korea. To the contrary, human cysticercosis caused by T. solium has been reported frequently during the 1960's. The severity of human cysticercosis is a significant problem of public health in Korea. Old data on bovine cysticercosis in the 1920's and 1930's are not useful for present control measures. Systematic surveys on bovine and swine cysticercosis as well as taeniasis and human cysticercosis are needed in Korea. Cases of sparganosis have been reported frequently during the past 15 years. Most of the 34 cases of sparganosis reported involved the eating of raw snakes and frogs. Most of the cases occurred in older males. Sparganosis in snakes, frogs, chickens, and swine has been reported in Korea. Human infection of Hymenolepis nana ranged from 0.2% to 1.4% discovered by stool examination. A few cases of adult worm collections of Diphyllobothrium latum and Hymenolepis diminuta have been reported in Korea. Two cases of human hydatid disease have been reported in Korea. No study on the disease in domestic animals is available. No case of human infection with dog tapeworm has been reported, even though it is highly prevalent in the indigenous dogs in Korea. I recommend that further study on the zoonotic tapeworms be conducted epidemiologically in Korea to get basic data for the public health programming.