Epilepsy and retarded growth in a hyperendemic focus of onchocerciasis in rural western Uganda.

An unusually high number of patients with epilepsy was observed in Kyarusozi sub-county, where infection with Onchocerca volvulus is hyperendemic. A preliminary survey was carried out in April 1991, when all patients with epilepsy and growth retardation were invited for medical examination. Two hundred and thirty one patients were screened, of whom, 91% were below the age of 19 years. The infection rate with Onchocerca volvulus in patients with epilepsy (61%) and retarded growth (70%) was significantly higher than in the general population of Kyarusozi sub-county. The prevalence of epilepsy in the study area was estimated to be at least 2%. Psychological impairment was more often observed among patients with a combination of onchocerciasis, epilepsy and/or growth retardation than the patients with onchocerciasis, epilepsy or growth retardation alone.