Funding Will Help Assess Extent of Human Tapeworm in UK Cattle
UK – A project to establish the frequency of human tapeworms in UK cattle has received funding from the Food Standards Agency.
30 July 2014
1 minute read
Work will begin on the study which will assess the ‘potential use of farm of origin information’ to allow for ‘more targeted’ inspections of the tapeworm, the Royal Veterinary College has announced.
The college hopes to clarify the presence of the tape worm, which causes bovine cysticercosis in its larval stage, in the national herd.
A spokesperson said: “Although in the EU the prevalence of bovine cysticercosis is assumed to be low, recent studies suggest that current methods of detection of infected animals are not sensitive enough to detect all positive cases.
"The real prevalence of disease is thus underestimated and the epidemiological situation should be re-evaluated.
“This project aims to establish the frequency of bovine cysticercosis in the UK cattle population and gather evidence on risk factors to which animals are exposed during their life cycle that contribute to infection.”
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