High prevalence of epilepsy in an onchocerciasis-endemic area in Mvolo County, South Sudan: A door-to-door survey
The paper concludes that strengthening of the onchocerciasis elimination programme is urgently needed to prevent epilepsy.
Abstract
In June 2020, a door to door household survey was conducted in Mvolo County, an onchocerciasis endemic area in South Sudan. A total of 15,699 individuals agreed to participate in the study. Of these, 32.1% had skin itching and 2.8% were blind. An epilepsy screening questionnaire identified 813 persons suspected of having epilepsy, with this confirmed in 798 of them. Younger age, being male, skin itching, blindness, and living in a neighbourhood or village close to the Naam River were risk factors for epilepsy.
The results in children also suggested a high ongoing Onchocerca volvulus transmission, but only 41.9% of them took ivermectin to prevent onchocerciasis during the last mass distribution.
The paper concludes that strengthening of the onchocerciasis elimination programme is urgently needed in order to prevent epilepsy in this region.
This research was supported by the Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) Programme.
Citation
Raimon S, Dusabimana A, Abd-Elfarag G, Okaro S, Carter JY, Newton CR, Logora MY, Colebunders R. ‘High prevalence of epilepsy in an onchocerciasis-endemic area in Mvolo County, South Sudan: A door-to-door survey’. Pathogens 2021: volume 10, issue 5, page 599