Strongly Serological Evidence of Meat-Borne Disease Due to Cysticercosis and Toxoplasmosis Infections in the Provinces of Bali and East Nusa Tenggara of Indonesia in 2019

Cysticercosis and toxoplasmosis are parasitic diseases that are included in the list of 25 strategic infectious animal diseases in Indonesia based on the decree of the Minister of Agriculture No. 4026/Kpts/OT.140/4/2013. It emphasized the strategic policy to control mainly zoonotic diseases. This study aimed to investigate the current seroprevalence level of cysticercosis and toxoplasmosis in pigs in the provinces of Bali and East Nusa Tenggara. A crosssectional study was conducted by taking 214 pig serum samples from smallholder farms. The samples were tested by specific ELISA for both cysticercosis and toxoplasmosis. Of the 214 serum samples tested, 147 (68.69%) were antibody positive to cysticercosis, and 111 (51.87%) were antibody positive to toxoplasmosis respectively. This finding suggested the strong evidence of infection of those parasitic agents where surveillance was conducted which potentially threaten human health. Therefore, food safety supervision must be tightened, including through counseling or the application of legal sanctions.