ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2014
Exposure to multiple parasites is associated with the prevalence of active convulsive epilepsy in sub-Saharan Africa.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
56 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 91 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence, incidence, and trends of epilepsy among children and adolescents in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- The epidemiology of human Taenia solium infections: A systematic review of the distribution in Eastern and Southern Africa.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Pooled it
- Comorbidities of epilepsy in low and middle-income countries: systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2020Pooled it
- Updated evidence of the association between toxocariasis and epilepsy: Systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2018Pooled it
- Toxoplasmosis and epilepsy--systematic review and meta analysis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2015Pooled it
- Unravelling complex interactions during Toxoplasma, Plasmodium, and Leishmania co-infections in French Guiana.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Integrating neurological expertise into One Health strategies for pediatric neurocysticercosis-associated epilepsy control in Sub-Saharan Africa: a narrative review.One health outlook · 2025Review
- The potential relationship between Toxocara canis infection and epilepsy in a rat model.Parasitology research · 2025Article
- Oral findings in children with chronic neurological disorders attending Paediatric Neurology Clinic, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Nigeria.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Modeling the determinants of attrition in a two-stage epilepsy prevalence survey in Nairobi using machine learning.Global epidemiology · 2025Article
- Diagnosis and Classification of Pediatric Epilepsy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Comprehensive Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Epidemiology of epilepsy in Wulu County, an onchocerciasis-endemic area in South Sudan.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Attitudes and perceptions towards epilepsy in an onchocerciasis-endemic region of Tanzania: a mixed approach to determine the magnitude and driving factors.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Who Let the Dogs Out? Unmasking the Neglected: A Semi-Systematic Review on the Enduring Impact of Toxocariasis, a Prevalent Zoonotic Infection.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Review
- Onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy in Maridi, South Sudan: Modelling and exploring the impact of control measures against river blindness.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- Prevalence of Epilepsy, Human Cysticercosis, and Porcine Cysticercosis in Western Kenya.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2022Article
- Epileptogenesis in Common Parasitic Infections.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2022Review
- Article
- Prevalence and mortality of epilepsies with convulsive and non-convulsive seizures in Kilifi, Kenya.Seizure · 2021Article
- Neurocysticercosis in patients with active epilepsy in the tea garden community of Assam, Northeast India.Scientific reports · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
18 authors at 12 institutions in 10 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEpilepsy is common in developing countries, and it is often associated with parasitic infections. We investigated the relationship between exposure to parasitic infections, particularly multiple infections and active convulsive epilepsy (ACE), in five sites across sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS AND
findingsA case-control design that matched on age and location was used. Blood samples were collected from 986 prevalent cases and 1,313 age-matched community controls and tested for presence of antibodies to Onchocerca volvulus, Toxocara canis, Toxoplasma gondii, Plasmodium falciparum, Taenia solium and HIV. Exposure (seropositivity) to Onchocerca volvulus (OR = 1.98; 95%CI: 1.52-2.58, p<0.001), Toxocara canis (OR = 1.52; 95%CI: 1.23-1.87, p<0.001), Toxoplasma gondii (OR = 1.28; 95%CI: 1.04-1.56, p = 0.018) and higher antibody levels (top tertile) to Toxocara canis (OR = 1.70; 95%CI: 1.30-2.24, p<0.001) were associated with an increased prevalence of ACE. Exposure to multiple infections was common (73.8% of cases and 65.5% of controls had been exposed to two or more infections), and for T. gondii and O. volvulus co-infection, their combined effect on the prevalence of ACE, as determined by the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), was more than additive (T. gondii and O. volvulus, RERI = 1.19). The prevalence of T. solium antibodies was low (2.8% of cases and 2.2% of controls) and was not associated with ACE in the study areas.
conclusionThis study investigates how the degree of exposure to parasites and multiple parasitic infections are associated with ACE and may explain conflicting results obtained when only seropositivity is considered. The findings from this study should be further validated.
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