In June, the Lancet Microbe published the results of Dr Mbabazi and her colleagues’ research in Uganda.
But this could all change following a crucial discovery. The causes of the condition have been poorly understood – a result of limited technology and high costs – making it impossible to prevent. “For these children, it’s a dual burden of poverty and debilitating disease,” says Dr Edith Mbabazi, Director of Research at the CURE Children’s Hospital in Uganda, who sees hundreds of such infants each year and has been researching PIH since 2015. Most of these babies were born normal but suffered from neonatal sepsis – a serious infection within a month of birth.įollowing treatment with antibiotics, the newborns survived the infection but several went on to develop enlarged heads. However, researchers in Uganda observed a very specific pattern among the cases they were recording. It can be caused by genetic or developmental factors, as seen in some babies, or head injuries and other kinds of trauma to the brain, as seen in many adults. Nearly 4,000 babies in the central African country develop post-infectious hydrocephalus (PIH) every year, many of whom go on to die.Ĭommonly known as ‘water on the brain’, hydrocephalus is the excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain’s cavities.
For nearly two decades, scientists have attempted to identify the mysterious culprit behind a medical condition common to Uganda that causes the heads of new-born babies to enlarge, leading to severe neurological damage and even death.
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