ArticleInternational journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases2019
High prevalence of epilepsy in an onchocerciasis endemic health zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite 14 years of community-directed treatment with ivermectin: A mixed-method assessment.
Article in International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Cameroonian blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) harbour a plethora of RNA viruses.Virus evolution · 2025Article
- Review of epilepsy care in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Epilepsia open · 2024Review
- 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
- Cytotaxonomic characterization and estimation of migration patterns of onchocerciasis vectors (Simulium damnosum sensu lato) in northwestern Ethiopia based on RADSeq data.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Prevalence of epilepsy in the onchocerciasis endemic middle belt of Ghana after 27 years of mass drug administration with ivermectin.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2023Article
- Epidemiology of nodding syndrome in the Greater Mundri area, South Sudan: Prevalence, spatial pattern and environmental risk factors.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
- Surveillance for Onchocerciasis-Associated Epilepsy and OV16 IgG4 Testing of Children 6-10 Years Old Should Be Used to Identify Areas Where Onchocerciasis Elimination Programs Need Strengthening.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Nodding Syndrome: A Scoping Review.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2021Article
- The World Health Organization road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021-2030: implications for onchocerciasis elimination programs.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2021Article
- Onchocerciasis Prevalence among Persons with Epilepsy in an Onchocerciasis Hypo-Endemic Area in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A Cross-Sectional Study.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Cytokines and Onchocerciasis-Associated Epilepsy, a Pilot Study and Review of the Literature.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- In pursuit of a cure: The plural therapeutic landscape of onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy in Cameroon - A mixed methods study.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Article
- Computational Design and Preliminary Serological Analysis of a Novel Multi-Epitope Vaccine Candidate against Onchocerciasis and Related Filarial Diseases.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Onchocerca volvulus and epilepsy: A comprehensive review using the Bradford Hill criteria for causation.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Review
- Effect of Ivermectin Treatment on the Frequency of Seizures in Persons with Epilepsy Infected withPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Ivermectin Treatment Response in Onchocerca Volvulus Infected Persons with Epilepsy: A Three-Country Short Cohort Study.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Zoonotic and vector-borne parasites and epilepsy in low-income and middle-income countries.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2020Review
- Single versus Multiple Dose Ivermectin Regimen in Onchocerciasis-Infected Persons with Epilepsy Treated with Phenobarbital: A Randomized Clinical Trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Onchocerca volvulus is not detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of persons with onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo investigate the reasons for the high prevalence of epilepsy (>6%) discovered in 2015 in the Aketi health zone in the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
methodsPersons with epilepsy (PWE) diagnosed in a door-to-door survey in 2015 were traced and re-examined in 2017 by a neurologist. Confirmed PWE were paired with matched controls. For onchocerciasis assessment, children 7-10 years old were tested for IgG4 Onchocerca volvulus (OV16) antibodies, a rapid epidemiological mapping of onchocerciasis (REMO) study was performed, and ivermectin coverage was investigated.
resultsForty-three (61.4%) previously diagnosed PWE were traced; the neurologist confirmed the epilepsy diagnosis in all of them. The overall OV16 positivity rate was 64.5%. Poor ivermectin coverage (55.9%) and a high prevalence of onchocercal nodules (>70%) were observed. The prevalence of epilepsy was 5.7% in Aketi rural town, with nine PWE (13.8%) experiencing head nodding seizures. A case-control study showed that PWE had lower body weight and higher ivermectin coverage in 2017 than healthy controls.
conclusionsThe high prevalence of epilepsy in the Aketi health zone, despite 14 years of community-directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTI), was found to be associated with high onchocerciasis transmission and low ivermectin use. An awareness programme to increase ivermectin coverage and the introduction of a bi-annual CDTI programme should be considered.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.