Trop Doct 2008;38:226-227
doi:10.1258/td.2007.070352
© 2008 Royal Society of Medicine Press
Pigs are the most important animal reservoir for Tunga penetrans (jigger flea) in rural Nigeria
Uade S Ugbomoiko MSc PhD *
Liana Ariza MPH 
Jorg Heukelbach MD PhD 
* Department of Zoology, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria;
Post-Graduation Program in Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Federal University of Ceará;
Department of Community Health, School of Medicine, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil;
School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Correspondence to: Professor J Heukelbach, Departamento de Saúde Comunitária, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Rua Prof. Costa Mendes 1608, 5 andar, Fortaleza CE 60430-140, Brazil Email: heukelbach{at}web.de
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SUMMARY
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We examined the domestic animals and rodents in a community
in rural Nigeria. Of the 133 animals examined, 29 (21.8%) were
infested, the highest prevalence of infestation and highest
parasite load was found in the pigs (prevalence 54.8%, median
= nine embedded parasites), followed by dogs (45.5%; median
= 4),
Rattus rattus (29.4%; median = 2) and
Mus minutoides (15.4%;
median = 1.5). Of all the tungiasis lesions identified 83% were
found in pigs. Our data confirm that tungiasis is a zoonotic
disease, and that pigs are its most important animal reservoir
in this endemic community.
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Introduction
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Tungiasis is a parasitic skin disease caused by the jigger flea
Tunga penetrans. The disease is present in resource-poor communities
in Central and South America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan
Africa.
1 Domestic animals, such as pigs, dogs and cats have
been repeatedly considered as important animal reservoirs, but
data are scarce.
2–5
A recently conducted community-based study in rural Nigeria revealed a high prevalence of tungiasis (45%) in the human population. A particular high parasite load was found in children and the elderly, and considerable morbidity caused by the infestation.6 The most important independent risk factor for tungiasis, identified by another epidemiological investigation in that area, was the presence of pigs in a household (adjusted odds ratio = 18), with a population-attributable fraction of 38%.7 We investigated tungiasis in domestic animals and rodents in this endemic community in order to describe the importance of domestic animals and rodents as a reservoir for T. penetrans.
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Material and methods
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The study was carried out during the dry season in Erekiti,
a rural community located about 50 km west of the city of Lagos,
Nigeria. The 1200 inhabitants are subsistence farmers, and many
families keep domestic animals such as dogs, cats, goats and
pigs that roam freely. Detailed characteristics of the study
area and the population are presented elsewhere.
6
First, we carried out a census of 50% of randomly selected households in Erekiti. Then, all households with domestic animals were visited for further investigation. After receiving the informed consent of their owners, pets and/or livestock were clinically examined over the whole body surface for the presence of embedded jigger fleas. Trapped rodents were killed with chloroform and examined.
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Results
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The overall prevalence of jigger flea infestation in the 133
animals examined was 21.8% (Table
1). The prevalence and
intensity of the infestation in the animals varied considerably.
It was noticeably higher in pigs and dogs than in the house
rat,
Rattus rattus (Table
1). The median number of lesions
per animal in the pigs was more than twice that found in the
dogs and more than four times that found in the rats (Table
1);
83% (184/221 lesions) of the total parasite load in the animals
was seen in the pigs. There were no tungiasis lesions observed
in the goats, sheep, cats or cows.
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Discussion
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Our data confirm the notion that infestation of animals with
T. penetrans in endemic communities is a common phenomenon.
In the community studied, human infestation correlated with
the presence of pigs in the household.
7 We can now show that,
in this community which is typical for rural Nigeria, pigs in
fact appear to be the most important animal reservoir, followed
by dogs and rodents, for
T. penetrans. Pigs were the most commonly
owned domestic animals. They presented with highest parasite
load and accounted for the vast majority of the total number
of tungiasis lesions found in the animals.
Other studies from West Africa, namely in Cameroon and São Tomé e Príncipe, also reported finding tungiasis in pigs.3,4 Interestingly, this is in contrast to the observations in endemic communities in Brazil, where dogs and rats seem to be the most important reservoirs – free-roaming pigs were banned from endemic communities in Brazil some years ago.1,8 Introducing the banning of free-roaming pigs in West African communities would probably also reduce human attack in that area.
We conclude that tungiasis is a zoonotic disease, and that pigs, dogs and rodents are important reservoir hosts in rural Nigeria. Consequently, we suggest that a sustained effort is made to: reduce the ownership of pigs and dogs in these areas; educate the public about the health issues; improve the standard of housing and treat any members of the community suffering from tungiasis. Pigs should be confined to pigpens. The reduction of the rodent population will further reduce the transmission of T. penetrans.
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References
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- Heukelbach J. Tungiasis. Rev Inst Med Trop São Paulo 2005;47:307–13[Medline]
- Heukelbach J, Costa AM, Wilcke T, et al. The animal reservoir of Tunga penetrans in severely affected communities of north-east Brazil. Med Vet Entomol 2004;18:329–35[Medline]
- Pampiglione S, Trentini M, Gentili F, et al. Tunga penetrans (Insecta: Siphonaptera) in pigs in São Tomé (Equatorial Africa): epidemiological, clinical, morphological and histopathological aspects. Revue Élev Méd Vét Pays Trop 1998;51:201–5
- Njeumi F, Nsangou C, Ndjend AG, et al. Tunga penetrans in Cameroon. Rev Med Vet 2002;153:177–80
- Carvalho RW, Almeida AB, Barbosa-Silva SC, et al. The patterns of tungiasis in Araruama township, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2003;98:31–6[Medline]
- Ugbomoiko US, Ofoezie IE, Heukelbach J. Tungiasis: high prevalence, parasite load, and morbidity in a rural community in Lagos State, Nigeria. Int J Dermatol 2007;46:475–81[Medline]
- Ugbomoiko US, Ariza L, Ofoezie IE, et al. Risk factors for tungiasis in Nigeria: identification of targets for effective intervention. PloS Negl Trop Dis 2007;1:e87
- Muehlen M, Feldmeier H, Wilcke T, et al. Identifying risk factors for tungiasis and heavy infestation in a resource-poor community in northeast Brazil. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2006;100:371–80[Medline]
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SUMMARY
Introduction
