HUMAN SUBCUTANEOUS TAENIA-SOLIUM CYSTICERCOSIS IN AN ANDEAN POPULATION WITH NEUROCYSTICERCOSIS

Subcutaneous involvement by the larval stages of the pork tapeworm Tae nia solium in patients suffering from neurocysticercosis (neurocystice rcosis) is well-described. it has been a clinical but undocumented imp ression that subcutaneous nodules are less common in cases of neurocys ticercosis in Latin American than in Africa or Asia. We report on the absence of subcutaneous nodules found in a screened population of 2,89 1 residents of an Andean village in Ecuador with a prevalence rate for neurocysticercosis of 144 per thousand. Thirty-four patients with mul tiple intracraneal calcifications and or cystic or encephalitic parenc hymal lesions of neurocysticercosis were examined and questioned about subcutaneous nodules. Only one patient described nodules and his comp uted tomography plain films are presented. Several hypotheses are pres ented as to why nodules may be less common in this Andean community wi th a high prevalence of neurocysticercosis.