Abstract

  Geohelminth infections, such as Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and Hookworms are major public health concerns. These helminths distributed throughout the world with high prevalence in poor and socio-economically deprived communities in the tropics and subtropics cause morbidity and sometimes death. Our study aimed at evaluating the prevalence and intensity of infection of geohelminths and the risk factor in Bandjoun, West Region of Cameroon. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were carried out on three hundred and fifteen (315) stool samples collected from residents using the simple centrifugal flotation and McMaster count technique respectively. Out of the 315 samples examined, twenty-one (6.7%) were infected with the eggs of at least one helminth parasite with prevalence and intensities of infection of 6.7% and 6971.4286 ±14662.4228 for Ascaris lumbricoides and 0.3% and 50 ±00 for Trichuris trichiura. More males (11 children) than females (10 children) were infected. The prevalence of A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura varied significantly with age groups with those of 1- 10 years taking the lead (12.97%) and 11-15 years (7.14%). One double infection (1%) was recorded with A. lumbricoides + T. trichiura. According to fecal concentration of eggs, 22.72% of infections were light, 13.6% moderate and 63.63% heavy. Factors such as poor hygiene and life conditions, lack of drinking water and lack of knowledge on how to fights the geohelminths were found to be important risk factors for geohelminths. This work shows a relatively low prevalence of geohelminths in this area, proof that the national deworming campaigns are achieving success.

Keywords: Geohelminths; Prevalence; Children Residents; Bandjoun; Risk Factor

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Citation

Citation: Dzune Fossouo Dirane Cleopas and Yondo Jeannette. “Prevalence of Soil Transmitted Helminths and Associated Risk Factors among Children Residents in Bandjoun, West Region of Cameroon". Acta Scientific Microbiology 3.11 (2020): 18-23.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Dzune Fossouo Dirane Cleopas and Yondo Jeannette. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.