Mapping epilepsy risks through porcine farming in North West Cameroon

Abstract

This study posits that socioeconomic factors determine the patterns of epilepsy. The transmission of cysticerci between pig and man is facilitated by traditional pig rearing, slaughtering, and the poor detection of Taenia solium in slaughter pigs. Neurocysticercosis, resulting from T. solium is often associated with focal epilepsy. To ascertain this relationship, a co-relational design was applied to compare epilepsy prevalence with human activities that may predispose people to the risks of the disease. Information on epilepsy and T. solium was sourced from survey by questionnaire. Hospitals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also provided information. The lack of coherent data on epilepsy however lessened the desired rigour in the test of the association of T. solium and epilepsy. Whereas porcine farming and epilepsy were reported from the entire region, Mezan and Batibo dominated both. The obtained Kendall’s tau of -0.881 indicated a strong negative correlation between epilepsy and pork consumption in the areas surveyed. Notwithstanding, the disagreement among researchers on the association between neurocysticercosis and epilepsy, agreement is strong on the association of neorocysticercosis porcine farming areas. Thus, the strength of this study resides in the attempt to pattern porcine farming and epilepsy geographically. Such surveys can provide clues to disease control and the fight against T. solium. Key words: Epilepsy, porcine farming, Taenia solium, neurocysticercosis, Batibo, Cameroon.