Prevalence of epilepsy in rural Rajasthan--a door-to-door survey.

Sir, Epilepsy is world wide health problem. Figures ranging from 1.28 to 8.87 per 1000 have been given in various studies from India.1 Very few neuroepidemiological studies have been possible in rural areas. This door-to-door survey was conducted in part of rural Rajasthan, with the aim to study the prevalence rate of active epilepsy and clinical profile including attitude and beliefs of people about epilepsy in Churu Tehsil (Rajasthan). The study was conducted during the period of January, 2005 to October, 2005. Patients of active epilepsy were included in the study. Febrile seizures and pseudoseizures were excluded. The study was conducted in 3 steps. In the first step, health workers and others posted at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and subcentres did a door-todoor survey for finding epileptic patients using standard validated 9 questions screening questionnaires, having 92% specificity and 98% sensitivity.2 Positive cases were referred to the rural epilepsy center at Ratan Nagar where Table 1 : Showing features differentiating tuberculosis of spine with brucellosis of spine