Original Research Article
Prevalence and knowledge of urinary schistosomiasis in the Mungo Division, littoral Region of Cameroon
Edwige Meguem1,3, Benjamen Pokam Thumamo2 and Henri Lucien Kamga Fouamno3*
1Centre International de Recherche Pluridisciplinaire, Université Publique de Lisala, RD-Congo.
2Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, Cameroon.
3Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon.
*Corresponding Author Email: henrikamga2002(at)yahoo.fr
Edwige Meguem |
Benjamen Pokam Thumamo |
Henri Lucien Kamga Fouamno |
Article Number: irjpeh.23.009 | Pages: 81-87 | Vol. 10 (3), November 2023 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.15739/irjpeh.23.009
Received: July 12, 2023 Accepted: September 18, 2023 Published: October 31, 2023
Abstract
This work aimed at determining the prevalence, and knowledge about urinary schistosomiasis amongst the population in the Mungo Division, Cameroon. It was a community-based, prospective and cross-sectional study where random selection of 3 villages was carried out in an area suspected of high schistosomiasis transmission. In each village, the target population was individuals aged above of 5 years. A structured questionnaire was administered to participants, prior to urine samples collection for the detection of hematuria and schistosome eggs using microscopic methods. A total of 1331 urine samples were collected from volunteers with 30.9% in Bakem, 39.4% in Lélem Mouatong and 29.7% in Penja. Schistosoma hematobium eggs were present in 5.3% samples at Bakem, 5.7% at Lélem Mouatong and 5.1% at Penja. There was a strong positive correlation between the occurrence of hematuria and the presence of eggs in the urine in the 3 villages (r = 0.98). The level of knowledge of the source of infection by participants was quite low, ranging from 7.8% to Bakem 12.4% to Lélem Mouatong and 17.6% in Penja. This research has advocated for the importance of health education as one of the disease control strategies in the study area.
Keywords: Prevalence, urinary schistosomiasis, Mungo Division, Cameroon
How to Cite this Article
Meguem E, Thumamo BP, Fouamno HLK (2023). Prevalence and knowledge of urinary schistosomiasis in the Mungo Division, littoral Region of Cameroon. Int. Res. J. Pub. Environ. Health 10(3):81-87. doi:https://doi.org/10.15739/irjpeh.23.009
© 2023 The authors.
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