Rainfall Linked to Brain Infection in Sub-Saharan Africa

The amount of rainfall affects the number of infant infections leading to hydrocephalus in Uganda, Africa, according to a team of researchers who are the first to demonstrate that these brain infections are linked to climate.

Hydrocephalus — which translates, literally, as “water on the brain” — is characterized by the build-up of the fluid that normally is found within and surrounding the brain, leading to brain swelling. The swelling will cause brain damage or death if not treated. Even if treated, there is only a one-third chance of a child maintaining a normal life after post-infectious hydrocephalus develops, and that chance is dependent on whether the child has received the best treatment possible.

“The most common need for a child to require neurosurgery around the world is hydrocephalus,” says research team member Steven J. Schiff, the Brush Chair Professor of Engineering and director of the Penn State Center for Neural Engineering.

In sub-Saharan Africa, upward of 100,000 cases of post-infectious hydrocephalus a year are estimated to occur. The majority of these cases happen after a newborn has suffered from neonatal sepsis — a blood infection that occurs within the first four weeks of life — according to researchers in a recent issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. For more information, click here to read the full release.