38.2.3 Prevention and control of taeniasis
The most important role for you as a Health Extension Practitioner in the prevention of taeniasis in your community is to educate community members about the mode of transmission of tapeworms from humans to cows and back to humans.
What health education messages should you give to people in your community to help prevent taeniasis?
You should educate them to:
- avoid open defaecation in the fields, and instead they should use a latrine
- avoid fertilisation of grazing lands by untreated human faeces
- wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after defaecation
- cook meat thoroughly and do not eat raw beef.
Your role in education and inspection to improve food hygiene, sanitation and waste disposal are covered in the Module on Hygiene and Environmental Health.
You also have a role in food hygiene inspection and community sanitation. Refrigeration or salting for long periods, or freezing at -10°C for at least nine days, also kills cysticerci in beef. You should also oversee the proper disposal of human faeces in your kebele.
38.2.2 Clinical manifestations, diagnosis and treatment of taeniasis