ArticleSeizure2018
High prevalence of onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy in villages in Maridi County, Republic of South Sudan: A community-based survey.
Article in Seizure, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 61 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
61 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 109 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
- Meta-analysis of epilepsy prevalence in West Africa and its relationship with onchocerciasis endemicity and control.International health · 2020Pooled it
- Ivermectin as an adjuvant to anti-epileptic treatment in persons with onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy: A randomized proof-of-concept clinical trial.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Trial
- Nodding Syndrome: The Need to Strengthen Epilepsy Care in Onchocerciasis-Endemic Areas and to Investigate the Pathogenesis of Onchocerciasis-Associated Epilepsy.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2026Article
- HISTONCHO: A dataset of intervention histories for onchocerciasis control & elimination in sub-Saharan Africa.Scientific data · 2026Article
- Investigating HLA haplotypes as a potential risk factor for nodding syndrome: A case-control study in the Mahenge area, Tanzania.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Performance of novel onchocerciasis rapid diagnostic tests in a field setting in South Sudan.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Community-directed treatment with ivermectin in Maridi, South Sudan: Impact of an onchocerciasis awareness campaign and bi-annual treatment on therapeutic coverage.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- A community-based vector control intervention "Slash and Clear" implemented in two onchocerciasis-endemic foci in South Sudan.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- High epilepsy prevalence and excess mortality in onchocerciasis-endemic counties of South Sudan: A call for integrated interventions.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- A Novel BiplexDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Pregnant Women, a Potential Reservoir for Onchocerca volvulus? A Cross Sectional Study in Maridi County, South Sudan.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2025Article
- Community awareness and neuroepidemiology of onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy in two rural communities in Cameroon.The Pan African medical journal · 2025Article
- Cameroonian blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) harbour a plethora of RNA viruses.Virus evolution · 2025Article
- Epidemiology of epilepsy in Wulu County, an onchocerciasis-endemic area in South Sudan.Heliyon · 2024Article
- The role of neuromodulation in the management of drug-resistant epilepsy.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2024Review
- Impact of annual community-directed treatment with ivermectin on the incidence of epilepsy in Mvolo, a two-year prospective study.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Chorioretinitis among Immigrant and Travellers. Comment on Mansour et al. Presumed Onchocerciasis Chorioretinitis Spilling over into North America, Europe and Middle East.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Integration of onchocerciasis morbidity management and disability prevention services in the healthcare system in Tanzania: a call for action and recommendations.Tropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines · 2024Article
- The Spectrum of Ocular Diseases in the Onchocerciasis-Endemic Focus of Raga in South Sudan.Research and reports in tropical medicine · 2024Article
1 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 7 institutions in 8 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo determine the prevalence and incidence of epilepsy in an onchocerciasis endemic region of South Sudan.
methodsIn May 2018, a door-to-door household survey was conducted in 8 study sites in an onchocerciasis endemic area in Maridi County.
resultsA total of 2511 households agreed to participate in the study, corresponding to 17,652 individuals. An epilepsy screening questionnaire identified 799 persons suspected to have epilepsy (4.5%); in 736 of the 766 persons (96.1%) seen by a clinical officer the diagnosis of epilepsy was confirmed. Adding 38 persons who were not seen but with a positive answer to a combination of screening questions, 774 persons (4.4%) had epilepsy. Epilepsy prevalence was highest in the 11-20 age group (10.5%); 66 persons with epilepsy (PWE) developed their first seizures in the year preceding the survey (annual incidence = 373.9/100.000). Neurocysticercosis cannot explain the high epilepsy prevalence since no pigs are kept in the area. Independent risk factors for epilepsy included male gender, belonging to a "permanent household" and a farming family, and living in a village bordering the Maridi River. Only 7209 (40.8%) of the population took ivermectin in 2017.
conclusionA very high prevalence and incidence of epilepsy was observed in several villages in Maridi County located close to the Maridi River and the Maridi dam. Urgent action is needed to prevent children in Maridi County from developing OAE by strengthening the onchocerciasis elimination program.
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