Title
The marketing of cysticercotic pigs in the Sierra of Peru
Date Issued
01 January 1993
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
University of Arizona
University of Arizona
University of Arizona
University of Arizona
University of Arizona
University of Arizona
University of Arizona
Abstract
In Peru pork supplied through regulated slaughterhouses is primarily restricted to the large cities on the coast. Approximately 65% of the pork consumed in the country is obtained through informal channels that are not inspected or supervised. The pathways via which pigs are commercialized were studied in Huancayo, a city in the Peruvian Sierra where cysticercosis is endemic. Official purchase, slaughter, and market records were reviewed. Also, direct surveys and participant observation were carried out at two local live pig markets and at two informal meat markets. Pigs were not processed in local slaughterhouses; instead, they were butchered informally. The proportion of cysticercotic pigs detected by tongue examination ranged from 14% to 25% of the total sold. Since cysticercotic pigs and pork are sold through informal markets, surveys of abattoirs and meat markets are not a reliable way to monitor the prevalence of porcine cysticercosis in Peru. We estimate that 48% of the pork traded informally and 23% of fhe total pork consumed in Huancayo is derived from pigs that are infected with cysticercosis.
Start page
223
End page
228
Volume
71
Issue
2
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencia veterinaria
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-0027222788
PubMed ID
Source
Bulletin of the World Health Organization
ISSN of the container
00429686
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus