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Case Reports
. 2022 Jul 1;14(4):505-508.
doi: 10.3390/idr14040054.

Neurocysticercosis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, a Diagnostic Challenge from Oyam District, Uganda

Francesco Vladimiro Segala  1 , Elda De Vita  2 , James Amone  3 , Daniel Ongaro  3 , Ritah Nassali  3 , Bonny Oceng  3 , Samuel Okori  3 , Giovanni Putoto  4 , Peter Lochoro  5 , Jerry Ictho  5 , Massimo Fantoni  1 , Annalisa Saracino  2 , Francesco Di Gennaro  2   4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Neurocysticercosis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, a Diagnostic Challenge from Oyam District, Uganda

Francesco Vladimiro Segala et al. Infect Dis Rep. .

Abstract

Background: In countries where Taenia solium is endemic, neurocysticercosis (NCC) is the leading identified cause of seizures, accounting for nearly 30% of all epilepsy cases and up to 2.8 million of Disability Adjusted Life Years. Diagnosis of this condition, however, is strictly reliant on either MRI or CT scan, which are poorly available in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), creating challenges for proper case management and the acquisition of precise neuroepidemiologic data that may guide program and policy development.

Methods: Here, we report the case of a 73-year-old woman admitted in a rural hospital in Northern Uganda, who presented with seizures and a progressive inability to walk. She was then diagnosed with NCC after a brain CT scan.

Conclusions: This case study represents a rare example of the detection of NCC in a rural district hospital, thus suggesting the potential feasibility of a CT-scan guided diagnostic approach in low resource settings.

Keywords: LMIC; Tenia solium; Uganda; computed tomography; neurocysticercosis; zoonosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Brain CT scan showing multiple, randomly distributed, round cystic lesions with white dot sign of 4–8 mm in diameter.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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