High Prevalence of Epilepsy in an Onchocerciasis-Endemic Area in Mvolo County, South Sudan: A Door-To-Door Survey

In June 2020, a door-to-door household survey was conducted in Mvolo County, an onchocerciasis-endemic area in South Sudan. A total of 2357 households containing 15,699 individuals agreed to participate in the study. Of these, 5046 (32.1%, 95% CI: 31.4–32.9%) had skin itching and 445 (2.8%, 95% CI:...

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Published inPathogens (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 5; p. 599
Main Authors Raimon, Stephen, Dusabimana, Alfred, Abd-Elfarag, Gasim, Okaro, Samuel, Carter, Jane Y., Newton, Charles R., Logora, Makoy Yibi, Colebunders, Robert
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 14.05.2021
MDPI
Subjects
Blindness
Communication
Consciousness
Convulsions & seizures
Data collection
Epilepsy
Families & family life
Households
Itching
Ivermectin
Mass distribution
nodding syndrome
Onchocerca volvulus
Onchocerciasis
Polls & surveys
Population
prevalence
Pruritus
Questionnaires
Risk analysis
Risk factors
Skin
South Sudan
Sudan
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Summary:In June 2020, a door-to-door household survey was conducted in Mvolo County, an onchocerciasis-endemic area in South Sudan. A total of 2357 households containing 15,699 individuals agreed to participate in the study. Of these, 5046 (32.1%, 95% CI: 31.4–32.9%) had skin itching and 445 (2.8%, 95% CI: 2.6–3.1%) were blind. An epilepsy screening questionnaire identified 813 (5.1%) persons suspected of having epilepsy. Of them, 804 (98.9%) were seen by a medical doctor, and in 798 (98.1%) the diagnosis of epilepsy was confirmed. The overall epilepsy prevalence was 50.8/1000 (95% CI: 47.6–54.4/1000), while the prevalence of nodding syndrome was 22.4/1000 (95% CI: 20.1–24.9/1000). 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 annual incidence of epilepsy was 82.8/100,000 (95% CI: 44.1–141.6/100,000). Among children 7–9 years old without epilepsy, 34% were Ov16 seropositive, suggesting high ongoing Onchocerca volvulus transmission, but only 41.9% of them took ivermectin during the last mass distribution. In conclusion, a high prevalence and incidence of epilepsy was observed in Mvolo, South Sudan. Strengthening of the onchocerciasis elimination programme is urgently needed in order to prevent epilepsy in this region.
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ISSN:2076-0817
2076-0817
DOI:10.3390/pathogens10050599