Ronan Kelly
Retired 2020
BMJ Open 2014;4:e006195 doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006195
Neurology
Nodding syndrome in Kitgum District, Uganda: association with conflict and internal displacement
Jesa L Landis1, Valerie S Palmer1,2, Peter S Spencer1,2
+ Author Affiliations
1Global Health Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
2Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
Correspondence to
Dr Peter S Spencer; spencer@ohsu.edu
Received 22 July 2014
Revised 23 September 2014
Accepted 24 September 2014
Published 4 November 2014
Abstract
Objectives To test for any temporal association of Nodding syndrome with wartime conflict, casualties and household displacement in Kitgum District, northern Uganda.
Methods Data were obtained from publicly available information reported by the Ugandan Ministry of Health (MOH), the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) Project of the University of Sussex in the UK, peer-reviewed publications in professional journals and other sources.
Results Reports of Nodding syndrome began to appear in 1997, with the first recorded cases in Kitgum District in 1998. Cases rapidly increased annually beginning in 2001, with peaks in 2003?2005 and 2008, 5?6 years after peaks in the number of wartime conflicts and deaths. Additionally, peaks of Nodding syndrome cases followed peak influxes 5?7 years earlier of households into internal displacement camps.
Conclusions Peaks of Nodding syndrome reported by the MOH are associated with, but temporally displaced from, peaks of wartime conflicts, deaths and household internment, where infectious disease was rampant and food insecurity rife.
...
http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/4/11/e006195.full
See also UGANDA/SOUTH SUDAN: Nodding Syndrome - Hundreds of children infected
Neurology
Nodding syndrome in Kitgum District, Uganda: association with conflict and internal displacement
Jesa L Landis1, Valerie S Palmer1,2, Peter S Spencer1,2
+ Author Affiliations
1Global Health Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
2Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
Correspondence to
Dr Peter S Spencer; spencer@ohsu.edu
Received 22 July 2014
Revised 23 September 2014
Accepted 24 September 2014
Published 4 November 2014
Abstract
Objectives To test for any temporal association of Nodding syndrome with wartime conflict, casualties and household displacement in Kitgum District, northern Uganda.
Methods Data were obtained from publicly available information reported by the Ugandan Ministry of Health (MOH), the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) Project of the University of Sussex in the UK, peer-reviewed publications in professional journals and other sources.
Results Reports of Nodding syndrome began to appear in 1997, with the first recorded cases in Kitgum District in 1998. Cases rapidly increased annually beginning in 2001, with peaks in 2003?2005 and 2008, 5?6 years after peaks in the number of wartime conflicts and deaths. Additionally, peaks of Nodding syndrome cases followed peak influxes 5?7 years earlier of households into internal displacement camps.
Conclusions Peaks of Nodding syndrome reported by the MOH are associated with, but temporally displaced from, peaks of wartime conflicts, deaths and household internment, where infectious disease was rampant and food insecurity rife.
...
http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/4/11/e006195.full
See also UGANDA/SOUTH SUDAN: Nodding Syndrome - Hundreds of children infected