RESUMO
Aims: Intestinal parasitic infections are persistent in Africa, and we questioned here whether prevention measures imposed by the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 could alleviate this threat in lowlands of the city of Yaoundé, Cameroon. Study Design: We monitored the trend of intestinal parasites in human and environmental samples from the seven subdivisions of the city of Yaounde, before (November-December 2019) and during (July-August 2020, November-December 2020) the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: Parasitological analysis were performed to check for the presence of helminths and protozoans in stools from inhabitants as well as in water, soil and fresh vegetables, using standard Kato Katz and Formol Ether methods.The minimum effective sample size considered for the estimation of parasite richness, parasite infection and contamination indexeswas 30 for human and 30 for environmental samples (i.e. soils, water and vegetables) per location. Results: Of the 19 parasite species identified in human and the environments, twelve were helminths and seven protozoans. The overall parasite species richness reached 16 in 2019 (12 helminths and 4 protozoans) and 19 in 2020 (12 helminths and 7 protozoans), with about 62.5-68.4% of species shared by human and environments. The parasite frequencies in human (21.03%) and water/soils (32.3%) in 2019 did not differ statistically with those of 2020 (14.6-20.3% and 10.8-35.4%, respectively). The contamination rate of vegetables (i.e. carrots, lettuce, basil, celery, etc.) has increased from 2019 (6.1-9.1%) to 2020 (9.1-24.2%), and was frequently due to roundworms, hookworms, Entamoeba and Cryptosporidium cysts. The findings suggest persistent risk associated with intestinal parasite irrespective to measures imposed by COVID-19 in study locations. Conclusion: The current control approaches may therefore integrateecological epidemiology of the intestinal parasite infections as complementary strategy in African cities.
RESUMO
This study was undertaken to evaluate the current status of shistosomiasis in the Nkolmebanga region (Lekie) of Cameroon; p rev i o u s ly determined to be a mixed zone harboring both Schistosoma mansoni and S. intercalatum. Study invo lved both malacology with collection and identifi c ation of fre s h water snails in four wat e rpools and para s i t o l ogy with collection and analysis of stools from schoolchildren Five species of freshwater snails were identified including two that were intermed i ate host of Schistosomes; i.e.; Biomphalaria pfe i ffe ri and Bulinus fo rskalii. Only B. pfe i ffe ri species collected from the Momboh and Mbonsoh Rivers shed Schistosoma cercaria. A total of 347 schoolchildren were enrolled but only 200 provided stools for parasitological testing. There were 93 boys and 107 girls. Parisitology demonstrated S. intercalatum eggs in the stools of no children. S. mansoni eggs were identified in the stools of 10 children for a prevalence of 5. Parasitic load ranged from 24 to 1104 eggs per gram of stool. In this study both malacologic and parasitological findings suggested that S. mansoni persists in Nkolmebanga region but that S. intercalatum has disappeared probably as a result of deforestation and urbanization