[Onchocerciasis and epilepsy. Epidemiological survey in Mali].
A door-to-door survey was conducted in 18 villages in Mali with a total of 5,243 inhabitants classified according to the endemicity of onchocerciasis. Each epileptic was matched with two controls. The survey protocol included the following steps in cases and controls: census taking, socioeconomic data, screening for epilepsy, clinical examination, laboratory testing to detect parasites in stools and urine, and snip-test. The crude prevalence of epilepsy was 13.35 per 1,000 (n = 70). Epidemiological study provided a number of valuable demographic insights concerning age at onset, type of seizure activity during seizure and personal and family medical history. A transverse study showed that the prevalence of epilepsy was not significantly higher (p = 9.09) in zones of high endemicity of onchocerciasis (16.1 per 1000) than in zones of low endemicity (10.8 per 1000). Case-control findings showed evidence of onchocerciasis in 22.4 p. 100 of epileptics and 21.7 p. 100 of controls (odds ratio = 1.02 IC 95 p. 100: 0.4-2.19, not significant). Various risk factors including genetic factors and low socio-economic status could explain the trend toward a higher incidence of epilepsy as well as higher morbidity rates in zones of high endemicity of onchocerciasis.
Farnarier
G
G
Département d'Epidémiologie des Affections Parasitaires, Hôpital Nord, Marseille, France. gfarnarier@mail.ap-hm.fr
Diop
S
S
Coulibaly
B
B
Arborio
S
S
Dabo
A
A
Diakite
M
M
Traore
S
S
Banou
A
A
Nimaga
K
K
Vaz
T
T
Doumbo
O
O
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008302:Mali / Q000453:epidemiology; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity; D009855:Onchocerciasis / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors