Cross-sectional study on Traditional pig rearing practices and cysticercosis in the southern region of  Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract BackgroundIn West Africa, pig meat, known as pork, is often supplied by traditional farms in rural districts. This practice causes significant sanitary risk because of the lack of veterinary control of farms and slaughterhouses in rural districts. This study aims to describe pig breeding practices used in southern Côte d'Ivoire to establish a surveillance system for cysticercosis disease. This survey was conducted among traditional pig producers living in villages surrounding Dabou, Aboisso, and Agboville. The data collected focused on the profile of producers and the characteristics of the farms.ResultsA total of 321 pig producers were identified (Dabou 72 (22.4%), Aboisso 26 (8.1%), and Agboville 223 (69.5%)). Most of the herders were male (87.8%). The total count of animals was 3,663 heads of pigs, with mostly youngpiglets (60.2%) and sow (29.3%). The local race was predominant (80.6 %) for only 15.5% of half-caste races. Most of the farms used permanent divagation rearing (53.3%). Following examination, random samples of pigs were tracked in all the selected villages using the quota methods. Animals' blood samples and serums were analyzed using Ac-ELISA and Western Blot. Out of the selected 639 animals, 13.2 % had antibodies against cysticercosis with considerable variations from one village to another.ConclusionsThe study highlighted that, in these regions, pig farming remains essentially traditional, with free grazing of animals, which constitutes a significant sanitary risk, especially for Taenia solium.