PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases (Jan 2014)

Exposure to multiple parasites is associated with the prevalence of active convulsive epilepsy in sub-Saharan Africa.

  • Gathoni Kamuyu,
  • Christian Bottomley,
  • James Mageto,
  • Brett Lowe,
  • Patricia P Wilkins,
  • John C Noh,
  • Thomas B Nutman,
  • Anthony K Ngugi,
  • Rachael Odhiambo,
  • Ryan G Wagner,
  • Angelina Kakooza-Mwesige,
  • Seth Owusu-Agyei,
  • Kenneth Ae-Ngibise,
  • Honorati Masanja,
  • Faith H A Osier,
  • Peter Odermatt,
  • Charles R Newton,
  • Study of Epidemiology of Epilepsy in Demographic Sites (SEEDS) group

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002908
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 5
p. e2908

Abstract

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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, pConclusionThis 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.