Neurocysticercosis in Nonendemic Countries: Time for a Reappraisal

Abstract

The cystic larvae of Taenia solium frequently invade the human nervous system and cause neurocysticercosis (NCC). Infection occurs when humans ingest tapeworm eggs from a Taenia carrier through the fecal-oral route, and become intermediate hosts of this cestode. Highly endemic in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Subcontinent and Southern Asia, NCC also became increasingly recognized in nonendemic countries during the past decades and is currently considered the most common helminthic infection of the nervous system and a leading cause of acquired epilepsy worldwide [1].