Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Pork Featured Articles

Better Pork magazine is published bimonthly. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Fighting tapeworm in backyard pigs

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

A bursary awarded to Ellen Hughes, a student at Britain's Cambridge University, is aimed at improving the management of backyard pigs in Ghana and other sub-Saharan countries.

Pigs don't grow as well as they could when they are infected with the pig tapeworm Taenia solium Cysticercosis. Human hosts do even worse. The tapeworm is known to spread Neurocysticercosis, a major cause of epilepsy in the sub-Sahara. This so-called "acquired" epilepsy shows up more often in the developed world because of immigration.

Humans are the only host known to harbour the adult tapeworm. Both pigs and humans can harbour the larvae or cysticerci. Vegetarians and other non-pork eaters can acquire the disease through fecal contamination of their food. The tiny embryos travel through the blood stream to muscles and brain, where they can grow to be a centimetre in size, causing epileptic seizures in 85 per cent of patients where the disease has been identified. BP

Current Issue

August 2026

Better Pork Magazine

Farms.com Swine News

Manitoba Flood Financial Relief from AgriStability

Friday, July 24, 2026

The governments of Canada and Manitoba have announced new measures to help farmers recover from severe flooding that affected many parts of Manitoba during June and July. The support is being provided through enhancements to the AgriStability program, giving producers greater flexibility and... Read this article online

Better Internet May Be Coming to Your Farm

Friday, July 24, 2026

Farmers and rural residents across Saskatchewan could soon gain improved access to high-speed Internet following a major federal funding announcement aimed at expanding broadband connectivity throughout the province. The Honourable Buckley Belanger, Secretary of State for Rural... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2026 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top