The status and health burden of neurocysticercosis in Mbulu district, northern Tanzania
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Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
Abstract
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the extent and health burden of neurocysticercosis in the general
community of the Mbulu district, northern Tanzania. About 1051 randomly select participants were screened for
human cysticercosis. The Cysticercus Western Blot IgG and Computed Tomography scan were used to detect infection
by cysticerci. The DALYs was used to assess the community’s health burden vis-a-vis neurocysticercosis.
Results: The sero-prevalence of HCC was 16.27%. About 76% of 25 selected human cysticercosis sero-positives had
neurocysticercosis suggestive lesions on CT scan and 74% had history of epilepsy. Epilepsy caused 2.8 years of life lost
and 2.2 healthy years of life lost due to disability per 1000 person-years in Mbulu. The average DALYs imposed due to
neurocysticercosis and epilepsy were 3.0 and 3.9 per 1000 person-years, respectively. Neurocysticercosis is a serious
public health concern in northern Tanzania.
Description
Keywords
Human cysticercosis, Neurocysticercosis, Status, Mbulu district