Final contractor report on a research project to explore new opportunities for targeting the detection and treatment of cysticercosis using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technology. The research was conducted at the Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University (UPCH) in Peru. The project enabled Peru to determine the burden of cysticercosis disease. The study demonstrated that 10% of acute care beds were occupied by patients infected with Taenia solium; and that over 40% of pigs and 10% of individuals living in an endemic area were infected by Taenia solium. In addition, the study established a testing service for the serologic demonstration of Taenia solium infection in the laboratory of parasitology at the UPCH which has processed over 1,500 specimens. This laboratory is self-financing and stable. The project has also emphasized the importance of cysticercosis in Latin America. Control projects are being undertaken in the sierra of Peru under the sponsorship of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the United States of America. Subsequent to this grant, further projects on cysticercosis were obtained from the International Development Research Center (IDRC) of Canada, the NIH of the United States of America, and from private industry from Smith Kline Beecham and Syntex. (Author abstract, modified)
