Prasad Kashi N, Prasad Amit, Gupta Rakesh K, Nath Kavindra, Pradhan Sunil, Tripathi Mukesh, Pandey Chandra M
Department of Microbiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, PIN 226014, India.
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2009 Feb;103(2):144-50. doi: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2008.07.015. Epub 2008 Sep 19.
Epilepsy is a major health problem worldwide, and neurocysticercosis (NCC) is one of the important causes of epilepsy in the tropics. The present study was carried out in a rural pig farming community of north India to estimate the prevalence of NCC in patients with active epilepsy (AE) and to determine the associated risk factors. Based on 30-cluster sampling recommended by WHO, a total of 1640 individuals belonging to 294 families from 30 villages were enrolled in the study. Demographic and socio-economic details of all individuals and families were recorded. Individuals with AE were identified by door-to-door survey. NCC was diagnosed by clinical, immunological, neuroimaging (brain magnetic resonance imaging) and epidemiological criteria. During the survey, 95 (5.8%) patients with AE were identified and clinically confirmed; 91 agreed to further evaluation for NCC and 44 (48.3%) of them fulfilled either definitive or probable diagnostic criteria for NCC. These 44 patients belonged to 37 households. Epilepsy in the family and no separate place for keeping pigs were identified as risk factors for NCC clustering in a family. The study shows a very high prevalence of AE in the pig farming community and NCC as its major cause. Since NCC is a preventable and potentially eradicable disease, appropriate intervention strategies may help to reduce the disease burden.
癫痫是全球主要的健康问题,而神经囊尾蚴病(NCC)是热带地区癫痫的重要病因之一。本研究在印度北部一个农村养猪社区开展,旨在估计活动性癫痫(AE)患者中NCC的患病率,并确定相关危险因素。根据世界卫生组织推荐的30群抽样法,研究共纳入了来自30个村庄294个家庭的1640人。记录了所有个人和家庭的人口统计学及社会经济细节。通过挨家挨户调查确定AE患者。NCC通过临床、免疫学、神经影像学(脑磁共振成像)和流行病学标准进行诊断。调查期间,共识别出95例(5.8%)AE患者并经临床确诊;91例同意进一步评估NCC,其中44例(48.3%)符合NCC的确诊或可能诊断标准。这44例患者来自37户家庭。家庭中有癫痫患者以及没有单独的养猪场所被确定为家庭中NCC聚集的危险因素。该研究表明养猪社区中AE的患病率很高,且NCC是其主要病因。由于NCC是一种可预防且可能根除的疾病,适当的干预策略可能有助于减轻疾病负担。