About 8 000 Mauritians suffer from epilepsy. Since its launching in October 2000, the Edycs Epileptic Group has helped more than 200 epileptics around the island. From 70 patients in September 2001, the organization now has a total of 275 patients ? including 106 aged from one to 18 ? attending treatment. The group, which is affiliated to the International Bureau of Epilepsy in the Netherlands and the National Society of Epilepsy in the UK, will participate in an international congress which will be held in Paris next August. The objective of this non-governmental organization (NGO) is to get epileptics ?out of the shadows? and fight against their exclusion from society.

According to the chairman of the organization, Youssouf Noormamode, there exist in Mauritius between 8 000 and 10 000 persons suffering from epilepsy. However, according to other research, the real number of people suffering from this illness could be around 20 000. ?The difference in the figures is the reason we would like to conduct a formal scientific research project to estimate the number of epileptics in Mauritius,? explains Youssouf Noormamode.

Psychological support essential

The group opened, with the help of Association du Bien-être des Rodriguais, a call unit at Mont-Lubin, Rodrigues two years ago. ?The patients registered over there are provided with the support of a medical team,? declares the chairman of the NGO. Psychological support is also an essential part of the job done by the Edycs Epileptic Group. Along with epilepsy, says Youssouf Noormamode, goes social exclusion. One of the aims of the group is to give the patients a place where they can talk about their illness without feeling ashamed.

The local educational system is not well adapted to epileptic children. Those children are, too often, forced to leave school and find themselves deprived of a proper education. To provide them with proper education, the Edycs Epileptic Group is planning to work with the ministry of Women?s affairs . ?We want to give a chance to those children to get a training that will enable them to have an active life later,? explains one resource person from the NGO.

Moreover, the Edycs Epileptic Group offers training courses to its patients to enable them to be less dependent, specially during their epileptic fits. ?The patients must be taught to take charge of themselves,? explains one resource person. The aim of the group is to act as facilitator. Those coming for consultation are given free diagnosis before being channelled to other associations for appropriate treatment, depending upon the seriousness of their disease. There exist about 40 types of epileptic illnesses. A specialist doctor working with the group performs all the medical tests.

Epilepsy, says the professional, can be treated efficiently, if detected in time. Therapeutic success depends on factors like early screening and an optimal treatment. In most cases, medical treatment is enough to bring about the disappearance of the epileptic crisis in 60% of the cases while reducing their frequency in 20% of the cases. Fits thus proved to be hereditary only in a few cases. Indeed, only 10% of children predisposed on hereditary grounds become epileptic. However, the causes of the disease remain unknown in more than half of the cases. Those interested can contact the Edycs Epileptic Group by telephone on 508 0904 or at 8, Impasse Labourdonnais, Port-Louis.