Gastrointestinal Nematodes among Residents in Melong, Moungo Division, Littoral Region, Cameroon

• Published in: BioMed research international Vol. 2021; pp. 5368973 - 8
• Main Authors: Cedric, Yamssi, Nadia, Noumedem Anangmo Christelle, Payne, Vincent Khan, Sabi Bertrand, M., Romeo, Ngangnang Ghislain
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Hindawi 09.02.2021; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Animals; Ascaris lumbricoides; Biomedical research; Cameroon - epidemiology; Care and treatment; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Coinfection; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diagnosis; Education; Feces; Female; Flotation; Gender; Health aspects; Humans; Infections; Informed consent; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic - epidemiology; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic - parasitology; Intestinal parasites; Intestine; Laboratories; Littoral environments; Male; Middle Aged; Nematoda; Nematode Infections - epidemiology; Nematode Infections - parasitology; Nematodes; Parasite Load; Parasites; Parasitic diseases; Parasitism; Population; Qualitative analysis; Risk factors; Roundworm infections; Sample size; Trichuris trichiura; Young Adult; Cameroon; Africa
• ISSN: 2314-6133; 2314-6141; 2314-6141
• DOI: 10.1155/2021/5368973

Background. Intestinal parasitic infections are among the most common infections worldwide. The present study was undertaken to provide baseline information on the status of gastrointestinal nematodes in Melong Subdivision, Moungo Division, Littoral Region, Cameroon. Material and Methods. Seven hundred and eighty-eight stool samples were collected in randomly selected quarters in the community of Melong. These stool samples were brought to the Laboratory of Applied Biology and Ecology in the University of Dschang for analysis using the qualitative (simple flotation) and quantitative (Mc Master count) technique. Results. The nematodes identified were Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm, Trichuris trichiura, and Capillaria hepatica with respective prevalences and intensities of infection of 2.2% and 3691.12±3898.47, 1.4% and 940.91±1825.90, 1.0% and 193.75±227.47, and 0.4%and 50±00. The data on the prevalence of nematodes with respect to sex and age showed that females (6.0%) were more infected than males (2.76%) with no significant difference (P>0.05). Furthermore, with respect to age, adults were more infected than children. The percentage of educational level showed a reduction in the number of parasites in the higher educational level. The prevalence of A. lumbricoides between localities showed a significant difference (P<0.05) with “Quarter 1” harboring most of the nematodes. Cases of double (Ascaris lumbricoides + Trichuris trichiura) and triple (Ascaris lumbricoides + Trichuris trichiura + hookworm) parasitism were encountered with both having a prevalence of 0.3%. According to the fecal concentration of eggs, 63.89% of the infections were light, 5.56% moderate, and 30.56% heavy. Conclusion. A relatively low overall prevalence was obtained in our study, showing that the national deworming campaign is proving effective, but more effort is needed to completely eradicate these parasites for a single infected individual can cause havoc.