{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T01:55:04Z","timestamp":1760234104726,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,24]],"date-time":"2021-03-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1616544000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000781","name":"European Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["ERC 671055"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ERC 671055"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000781","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A high epilepsy prevalence has been reported in onchocerciasis meso- and hyper-endemic regions in sub-Saharan Africa, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We investigated whether onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy can also be suspected in onchocerciasis hypo-endemic regions. Stored serum samples from 342 patients admitted with recent onset neurological symptoms admitted to Mosango general hospital, in the Kwilu province, DRC, between 2012 and 2015 were screened for onchocerciasis (OV16) antibodies by ELISA and Taenia solium antigen (using an in-house B158\/B60 antigen test). Eighty-one (23.7%; 95% CI 19.5\u201328.5%) of these samples were positive for OV16 antibodies and 43\/340 (12.6%; 95% CI 9.5\u201316.6%) were positive for T. solium antigen. Of the 58 persons clinically diagnosed with late onset epilepsy of unknown etiology, 19 (32.8%) were OV16 positive and nine (16%) T. solium antigen positive. In total, 16 persons with epilepsy were OV16 positive and T. solium negative, of whom 12 (75%) were between the ages seven to 31 years old, an age rage in which onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy is observed. Our study suggests that in onchocerciasis hypo-endemic areas, in T. solium antigen negative persons with epilepsy, onchocerciasis should be considered as a potential trigger of epilepsy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens10040389","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,24]],"date-time":"2021-03-24T21:36:51Z","timestamp":1616621811000},"page":"389","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Onchocerciasis Prevalence among Persons with Epilepsy in an Onchocerciasis Hypo-Endemic Area in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3356-4032","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"An","family":"Hotterbeekx","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Global Health Institute, University of Antwerp, 2100 Antwerp, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1153-4078","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kristien","family":"Verdonck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2100 Antwerp, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Deby","family":"Mukendi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut National de Recherche Biom\u00e9dicale, Av. De la D\u00e9mocratie N\u00b05345, 1197 Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo"},{"name":"Centre Neuro-Psycho Pathologique, Universit\u00e9 de Kinshasa, 7948 Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jean-Roger","family":"Lilo-Kalo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut National de Recherche Biom\u00e9dicale, Av. De la D\u00e9mocratie N\u00b05345, 1197 Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pascal","family":"Lutumba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut National de Recherche Biom\u00e9dicale, Av. De la D\u00e9mocratie N\u00b05345, 1197 Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo"},{"name":"Centre Neuro-Psycho Pathologique, Universit\u00e9 de Kinshasa, 7948 Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marleen","family":"Boelaert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2100 Antwerp, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Liselotte","family":"Hardy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2100 Antwerp, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Barbara","family":"Barb\u00e9","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2100 Antwerp, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jan","family":"Jacobs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2100 Antwerp, Belgium"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Catholic University Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Emmanuel","family":"Bottieau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2100 Antwerp, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1919-1340","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Robert","family":"Colebunders","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Global Health Institute, University of Antwerp, 2100 Antwerp, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"102","article-title":"Neurological disorders in rural Africa: A systematic approach","volume":"39","author":"Winkler","year":"2009","journal-title":"Trop. 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