Prevalence and Intensity of Infection of Gastro-Intestinal Parasites in Babadjou, West Region of Cameroon

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International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medical Sciences
2017; 3(2): 14-22
http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ijcems
doi: 10.11648/j.ijcems.20170302.11
ISSN: 2469-8024 (Print); ISSN: 2469-8032 (Online)
Prevalence and Intensity of Infection of Gastro-Intestinal
Parasites in Babadjou, West Region of Cameroon
V. Khan Payne*, Lontuo F. Robertine, Ngangnang G. Romeo, Megwi Leonelle, Mbong Erica,
Yamssi Cedric, Bamou Roland, Mpoame Mbida
Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon
Email address:
vk.payne@yahoo.com (V. K. Payne)
*Corresponding author
To cite this article:
V. Khan Payne, Lontuo F. Robertine, Ngangnang G. Romeo, Megwi Leonelle, Mbong Erica, Yamssi Cedric, Bamou Roland, Mpoame
Mbida. Prevalence and Intensity of Infection of Gastro-Intestinal Parasites in Babadjou, West Region of Cameroon. International Journal of
Clinical and Experimental Medical Sciences. Vol. 3, No. 2, 2017, pp. 14-22. doi: 10.11648/j.ijcems.20170302.11
Received: April 3, 2017; Accepted: April 17, 2017; Published: May 10, 2017
Abstract: Helminth infections, such as Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and Hookworms are major public health
concerns. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and intensity of infection of gastro-intestinal helminthiasis in
Babadjou. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were carried out on eight hundred and twenty five (825) stool samples
collected from residents using the simple centrifugal flotation and McMaster count technique respectively. Out of the 825
samples examined, 70(8.5%) were infected with at least one helminth parasite with prevalence and intensities of infection of
4.4% and 2594.44 ± 3897.17 for A. lumbricoides, 4.2% and 72.86 ± 110.04 for T. trichiura, 1.9% and 83.33 ± 72.37 for
Hookworms and 0.2% and 50 ± 00 for Capillaria hepatica respectively. Males (13.8%) were more infected than females
(8.6%). The prevalence of A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura vary significantly with age groups with those of 1-10 years taking
the lead (17.9%). The prevalence between the three educational levels differed significantly (P < 0.05) for A. lumbricoides, T.
trichiura and Hookworm where those from the primary level were most infected (28.6%). The locality of Bamedji showed
very high prevalences of A. lumbricoides (35.7%) and T. trichiura (17.9%) with significant differences as well. From the
different occupations involved in the current study, students harboured all the four nematodes encountered. Cases of double
and triple infections were recorded with A. lumbricoides+ T. trichiura (2.4%) being the highest and A. lumbricoides+ T.
trichiura+ Hookworms (0.2%) the only triple infection registered. According to fecal concentration of eggs, 77.01% of
infections were light infections, 3.44% moderate and 19.54% heavy infections. Only A. lumbricoides had heavy infections
while all Hookworm infections were light. The results found on this study show that, it is important to control and prevent
gastrointestinal helminths in and around Babadjou.
Keywords: Gastro-intestinal Helminths, Prevalence, Intensity, Babadjou, West Region, Cameroon
1. Introduction
Parasitic infections constitute a major health problem in
tropical and subtropical zones where climatic conditions like
temperature and humidity, lack of hygiene, poverty, socio-
cultural habits and demographic parameters favour their
development 1. The World Health Organization (WHO)
estimates over 2 billion people in the world living with these
parasitic infections where school age children and women at
the age of procreation are the most infected 2.
These parasitic diseases kill more than 155,000 thousand
people per year with 97% of these deaths occurring in the
developing countries 3. Intestinal helminthiasis among these
parasitic infections are the most common infections occurring
throughout the developing world 4 with 89.9 million school age
children infected in Sub Saharan Africa 5. In 2004, a report from
the Cameroonian Public health Secretary of state revealed 16.1
million inhabitants in Cameroon with more than 10 million
infected with helminthiasis 6. The commonest and well known
of these helminthiasis are Ascariasis caused by Ascaris
lumbricoides affecting 1.5 billion people, Hookworms
(Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus) affecting 1
billion and trichuriasis due to Trichuris trichiura affecting 800

15 V. Khan Payne et al.: Prevalence and Intensity of Infection of Gastro-Intestinal
Parasites in Babadjou, West Region of Cameroon
million people throughout the world 7.
Given that there is limited information in Babadjou
regarding the occurrence of STHs, our main objective was to
determine the prevalence and intensity of infection of
helminthiasis among residents in Babadjou.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Area of Study
This study was carried out in Babadjou situated along the
Bafoussam-Bamenda (National n°6) transect in the
Bamboutos Division with a surface area of 250 km2 and a
population of 50.000 inhabitants. Its geographical position or
coordinates are 5° 40’ North, 10° 12’ East. Temperatures are
relatively low with intense rainfall. The dry season runs from
December-April and the rainy season from May- November.
Babadjou is bordered in the North by the Bamevuh and
Bammock villages of the South West Region, in the East by
the Pinying village of the North West region, in the West by
the Balatchi village and in the South by the Bamessingue
village both of the Western Region 8.
2.2. Ethical Clearance
To carry out this research, an ethical clearance was obtained
from the National Ethics Committee of Cameroon, in order to
ensure consent and confidentiality of the participants.
2.3. Study Population
The subjects were 825 from 14 different quarters of
Babadjou randomly selected between October and December
2014. This study population was comprised of both children
and adults aged from 2 to 98 years with a mean age of 22.8 ±
19.9 years. Three educational levels were represented
(Nursery, Primary and Secondary levels of education). The
study population was made up of 486 (59%) females and 339
(41%) males with a majority being students.
2.4. Parasitological Examination
Coprologic analysis was done to have a quantitative and
qualitative appreciation of the prevalence of infection of the
parasites. For the qualitative analysis, faeces were analysed
by the double-centrifugal flotation technique using saturated
sodium chloride solution (concerntration: 6.84M). For
quantitative analysis or determination of the number of eggs
per gram of faeces, the Mc Master technique described by
Thienpont et al., 9 was used.
2.5. Statistical Analysis
Data was stored in a Microsoft Excel spread sheet and then
exported to SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science, v
20) software for analysis. Summary statistics were generated
using the same software. For the purpose of modeling these
data, explanatory variables were first explored for
associations between parasites using χ2 test. The prevalence
of helminth parasites were compared between demographic
parameters using the chi square test. They were all tested at
5% significance level.
3. Results
3.1. Prevalence of Infection Among Residents
Out of the eight hundred and twenty five (825) stool
samples examined, 70(8.5%) were infected with at least one
parasitic helminth (table 1). Four different helminths were
recorded, all of which were nematodes. These nematodes
included: Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura,
Hookworm and Capillaria hepatica with specific prevalences
of 4.4% (36 infected), 4.2% (35 infected), 1.9% (16 infected)
and 0.2% (2 infected) respectively.
Table 1. The overall percentage of infected and uninfected individuals.
Parasitic status No. of individuals
Frequency (%)
Infected with at least one parasite 70 8.5
Not infected 755 91.5
Total 825 100.0
Generally, both sexes were infected with all the above
stated nematodes. Out of the 486 females examined, 42
(8.6%) harboured parasites while 47 (13.8%) of the 339
males were tested positive for these nematodes as shown on
table 2 below. It can be noted that the overall prevalence was
higher in males than in females with no significant difference
(P˃0.05). Ascarislumbricoides (5.0%), Trichuris trichiura
(5.6%) and Hookworm (2.9%) infections were slightly higher
in males while in females, it was 3.9%, 3.3%, and 1.2%
respectively. Capillaria hepatica had no difference in
prevalence between both sexes.
Table 2. Prevalence of parasitic helminths with participant gender.
Gender
Parasitic helminths Females N (%) Males N (%) Total N (%) χ
2
Df p-value
Ascaris lumbricoides 19 (3.9) * 17 (5.0) 36 (4.4) 0.575 1 0.448
Trichuris trichiura 16 (3.3) 19 (5.6) 35 (4.2) 2.608 1 0.106
Capillaria hepatica 1(0.2) 1 (0.3) 2 (0.2) 0.065 1 0.799
Hookworm 6 (1.2) 10 (2.9) 16 (1.9) 3.074 1 0.08
Total 42 (8.6) 47(13.8) 87(10.5)
*: Number of positive cases and prevalence (%) in bracket
It can be noticed on table 3 below that Hookworm
infections were present in all the age groups except the last
age group. The prevalence of parasitic helminthiasis was
highest in children from 1 to 10 years with an overall

International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medical Sciences 2017; 3(2): 14-22 16
prevalence of 17.9%. In this group, A. lumbricoides, T.
trichiura, Hookworm and C. hepatica infections had specific
prevalences of 7.6%, 7.2%, 2.9% and 0.4% respectively. This
was followed by those of the second group who were aged
from 11 to 20 years with A. lumbricoides (4.9%) and T.
trichiura (4.5%) having the highest rates of occurrence. We
can also note that prevalence gradually decreased with
increasing age. The least infections occurred in the 51 - 60
age group with only 1 (2.4%) Hookworm infection while it
was completely absent in those of 60 years and above. The
prevalence of A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura had significant
differences between the age groups (P < 0.05).
Table 3. The Prevalence of helminth infections amongst age groups.
Parasitic helminths
Age group (years) Ascaris lumbricoides N (%) Trichuris trichiura N (%) Capillaria hepatica N (%) Hookworm N (%) Total N (%)
2-10 21(7.6)* 20(7.2) 1 (0.4) 8 (2.9) 50 (17.9)
11-20 12 (4.9) 11(4.5) 3 (1.2) 26(10.5)
21-30 1 (1.2) 2 (2.4) 2 (2.4) 5(6.0)
31-40 2 (3.1) 1 (1.6) 1 (1.6) 4(6.25)
41-50 1 (1.9) 1 (1.9) 1 (1.9) 3(5.6)
51-60 1 (2.4) 1(2.4)
>60
Total 36 (4.4) 35 (4.2) 2 (0.2) 16 (1.9) 89 (10.78)
χ² 16.18 13.01 3.343
p-value 0.013 0.043 0.765
*: Number of positive cases and prevalence (%) in bracket
The prevalence between nursery, primary and secondary
school children differ significantly (P<0.05). Those from the
primary level were the most infected (28.6%) against a
prevalence of 17.3% from the secondary level of education.
Only 2 participants came from the nursery level of which
none of them was infected. We also observed a prevalence of
2.9% from those who did not provide any information on
their educational status (Table 4).
Table 4. The prevalence of parasitic helminths according to level of education.
Level of education
Helminths Unknown N (%) Nursery N (%)
Primary N (%)
Secondary N (%) χ² Df p-value
Ascaris lumbricoides 4 (0,8) * 0 (0) 27 (12,7) 5 (5,3) 51,702 3 0.000
Trichuris trichiura 6 (1,2) 0 (0) 25 (11,8) 4 (4,2) 41,796 3 0.000
Hookworm 4 (0,8) 0 (0) 8 (3,8) 4 (4,2) 10,019 3 0.04
Capillaria hepatica 1 (0,2) 0 (0) 1 (0,5) 0 (0)
Total 15 (2.9) 0 (0) 61 (28.6) 13 (17.3)
*: Number of positive cases and prevalence (%) in bracket
Out of the 14 quarters involved in our study, at least one parasitic helminth was identified in each of them except Nkameleh
which harboured no parasites. Bamedji showed very high prevalences of A. lumbricoides (35.7%) and T. trichiura (17.9%)
with significant differences (P < 0.05) between the localities as shown on table 5 below.
Table 5. The prevalence of parasitic helminths among localities.
Parasitic helminths Total
Localities Ascaris lumbricoides N (%) Trichuris trichiura N (%) Hookworm N (%) Capillaria hepatica N (%)
Balepo 2 (3.0) * 1(1.5) 0 (0) 3 (6.06)
Bamedji 10(35.7) 5(17.9) 0(0) 15 (53.57)
Bamedjingha 2(1.2) 7(4.3) 5(3.0) 14 (8.53)
Bamejuih 1(0.7) 3(2.0) 4(2.6) 1 (0.7) 9 (5.96)
King place 5(10.6) 4(5.5) 1(2.1) 10 (21.27)
Metongfeu 0(0) 0(0) 1(3.1) 1 (3.10)
Ngagong 2(3.4) 5(8.5) 1(1.7) 8 (13.55)
Ngindah 1(6.2) 1(6.2) 0(0) 2 (12.5)
Ngon-yeuh 1(3.3) 3(10.0) 0(0) 4 (13.33)
Nkameleh 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0
Takang 1(2.8) 0(0) 3(8.3) 1 (2.8) 5 (13.8)
Tchimego 0(0) 1(3.6) 0(0) 1 (3.57)
Toumaka 5(9.4) 2(3.8) 1(1.9) 8 (15.09)
Zavion 6(5.7) 3(2.9) 0(0) 9 (8.57)
Total 36(4.4) 35(4.2) 16(1.9) 2 (0.2) 89 (10.78)
χ² 86.984 27.203 15.062
p-value 0.000 0.018 0.374
*: Number of positive cases and prevalence (%) in bracket

17 V. Khan Payne et al.: Prevalence and Intensity of Infection of Gastro-Intestinal
Parasites in Babadjou, West Region of Cameroon
Looking at table 6, one can easily notice the complete
absence of infection in most of the occupations yet, students
harboured all the 4 nematodes identified during the course of
this study. The prevalence of A. lumbricoides was relatively
high in gardeners (11.1%) followed by students (8.5%) and
house wives (2.5). The pattern observed for T. trichiura was
higher in bike riders (7.7%), followed by students (6.7%) and
farmers (4.8%). The trend observed for Hookworm was
higher in teachers (25%) and C. hepatica infections recorded
high prevalence in farmers. However, all these differences
were not statitically significant (P ˃ 0.05).
Table 6. The prevalence of parasitic helminths according to occupation.
Helminths
Profession Ascaris lumbricoides
N (%)
Trichuris trichiura
N (%)
Hookworm
N (%)
Capillaria hepatica
N (%) Total
Farming 1 (1.6)* 3 (4.8) 1 (1.6) 5 (7.9)
Student 29 (8.5) 23 (6.7) 10 (2.9) 1 (0.3) 63 (18.42)
Teaching 1 (25) 1 (25.0)
Gardening 1 (11.1) 1 (11.11)
House wife 2 (2.5) 1 (1.2) 2 (2.5) 5 (6.5)
Bike rider 1(7.7) 1 (7.6)
Unknown 3 (1.1) 7 (2.5) 3 (1.1) 13 (4.5)
Total 36 (4.4) 35 (4.2) 16 (1.9) 2 (0.2) 89 (10.78)
χ² 26.209 11.447 16.466
Df 15 15 15
p-value 0.051 0.781 0.421
*: Number of positive cases and prevalence (%) in bracket
In the course of our work, cases of parasitic associations were identified. Figure 1 below gives us a general overview of the
different types of associations. Seven hundred and fifty five (91.5%) individuals of the study population was tested negative of
parasitic helminths. The highest infections were single infections with 53(6.4%) individuals followed by 15(1.8%)
paraticipants with double infections. Only 2(0.2%) members of the study population harboured triple infections.
Figure 1. General presentation of parasitic associations.
The patterns of single, double and triple infections are shown in figure 2 below. A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura recorded
the highest infection rates of 2.4% each amongst the single infections. Three types of double infections were observed with the
association A. lumbricoides + T. trichiura being the most prevalent (1.6%). The two other associations were those of A.
lumbricoides+ Hookworm and C. hepatica + Hookworm with a prevalence of 0.1% each. Only one triple infection was
recorded. It was that of A. lumbricoides + T. trichiura + Hookworm with a prevalence of 0.2%.

International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medical Sciences 2017; 3(2): 14-22 18
Figure 2. Prevalence of Single and mixed intestinal infections.
3.2. Intensity of Infection (mean EPG) Among Residents
The specific intensity of infection which is expressed in
terms of mean concentration of eggs per gram (EPG) of
faeces is shown on table 7. Out of the 825 stool samples
examined, A. lumbricoides (2594.44 ± 3897.174) recorded
the highest intensity of infection and C. hepatica the lowest
(50 ± 00).
Table 7. Intensity of infection of the different helminth Parasites.
Parasites No. Infected Egg per gram (Mean ±SD)
Ascaris lumbricoides 36* 2594.44 ± 3897.174
Trichuris trichiura 35 72.86 ± 110.042
Hookworm 16 83.33 ± 72.375
Capillaria hepatica 2 50 ± 00
*No. infected: number of infected individuals
Based on the modified classification of geohelminths
according to the faecal concentration of eggs by Deuyo
(1997), table 8 was established. The pre-dominant intensity
of infection was the light infection, where all Hookworm
(100%) infections were light infections. In general, 77.01%
of infections were light infections, 3.44% moderate and
19.54% heavy infections. A. lumbricoides recorded 47.2% of
heavy and light infections each and 5.6% moderate. Light
and moderate infections were also observed in T. trichiura
with faecal concentrations of 97.1% and 2.9% respectively.
Table 8. Distribution according to faecal concentration of eggs.
Intensity of infection
Parasites Light
N (%)
Moderate
N (%)
Heavy
N (%)
Total
N
Ascaris lumbricoides 17 (47.2) *
2 (5.6) 17 (47.2) 36
Trichuris trichiura 34 (97.1) 1 (2.9) 35
Hookworm 16 (100) 16
Total 67 (77.01)
3 (3.44) 17 (19.54) 87
*: Number of positive cases and prevalence (%) in bracket
4. Discussion
The main interest of this study was the prevalence and
intensity of infection of helminthiasis in Babadjou in which
the overall prevalence was found to be 8.5%. This result
corroborates that of Nougning 1 in the localities of Bambui
and Bambili North West Region of Cameroon who also
recorded a prevalence of 8.5% among residents and the 8.2%
obtained during a comparative study carried out in Wuyi and
Laogang in the Republic of china 10. It was relatively lower
than the prevalence (13.8%) reported by Ephrem et al. 12 in
Ethiopia and that of Wabo Poné et al., 11 in Dschang, Western
Region of Cameroon with a prevalence of 41.5%. However,
this overall prevalence is relatively high as compared to the
0.9% recorded by Zadock 13 in the Same district. These
differences may be explained by variations in socio-
economic status, regular de-worming campaigns,
improvement in hygienic conditions, climatic and geographic
conditions of the study area, as well as local endemicity of
the study area for these particular parasites.
Four parasitic helminths were identified including A.
lumbricoides, T. trichiura, Hookworms and C. hepatica with
specific prevalences of 4.4%, 4.2%, 1.9% and 0.2%
respectively. These results are similar to the values obtained
by Nougning 1 who recorded 4.37% in A. lumbricoides,
2.75% in T. trichiura and 1.57% in Hookworm infections but
relatively low as compared to those registered in Dschang by
Wabo Poné et al., 11 (A. lumbricoides: 18%, T. trichiura:
36%, Hookworm: 11%). These low specific rates may be due
to public awareness, improvement of environmental
sanitation and the national de-worming campaign for the
fight against gastro-intestinal parasites. From the overall
prevalence of intestinal helminths, A. lumbricoides
comprised the most prevalent helminth parasite (4.4%). This
observation is consistent with the findings of Maffo
Tatsinkou et al., 14 in Dschang, Cameroon and Mohammed et

19 V. Khan Payne et al.: Prevalence and Intensity of Infection of Gastro-Intestinal
Parasites in Babadjou, West Region of Cameroon
al. 15 in Ethopia who observed prevalences of 10.9% and
4.32% respectively. The high existence of this parasite
among residents may be due to the resistant nature of the
eggs to various environmental conditions. Also, these eggs
are very adhesive and can easily stick to fruits, vegetables,
flies and dust particles. The least prevalence was observed in
C. hepatica (0.2%). This is obvious because it is rarely found
in humans and there are no endemic areas of infection with
C. hepatica and human infection primarily results from
zoonotic transmission or might have been the case of
spurious infection 16 with most of these infections found in
children. This result corroborates that of Maffo 17 who also
observed a prevalence of 0.2%. This can be explained by the
fact that unembryonated eggs might have been ingested by
individuals in which case they were harmlessly pass out in
the faeces (spurious infection). Also, identification of C.
hepatica eggs in the stool does not result from infection of
the human host, but from ingestion of livers from infected
animals by that host and the eggs will as well be harmlessly
passed out in faeces 18.
Among the various sexes, the males (13.8%) harbour most
of the helminth parasites than the females (8.6%). These
results are similar to those obtained in Cameroon by Maffo 1 7
who recorded 21.53% and 17.84% in men and women
respectively. This was also observed in Nigeria by Abelau et
al., 19 who recorded a higher prevalence in men (23.6%) than
in women (20.2%) and by Akinseye et al., 20. The higher
prevalence in males recorded in this study may be due to the
playing activities of male children. This could also be
attributed to consistent exposure of the men to using of bare
hands in carrying out farming and other laborious works
without proper washing of the hands before eating. However,
this difference though not statistically significant (P˃0.05)
was not in agreement with those observed in Nigeria by Biu
and Kofur 21 where females harboured more parasites than
the males. The presence of these nematodes in both sexes is a
clear indication that infection with helminth parasites is not
sex dependent meanwhile Wabo Poné et al., 11 observed a
significant difference in the prevalence of helminth parasites
between both sexes in Cameroon.
Furthermore, the findings of the current study also
depicted that intestinal helminthic infections are more
prevalent in younger children. The four helminth parasites
occurred most in children of 2-10 years with A. lumbricoides
and T. trichiura taking the lead. This result agrees with those
carried out in Ethiopia by Gessessew et al., 22 and
Mohammed et al., 15 and in Nigeria by Nmor et al., 23. The
second group with high infection rates was that of 11- 20
years. This remark was also in line with the report of
Mohammed et al., 15. The significant difference between
prevalence in age groups might be attributed to the fact that
younger children cannot properly keep their personal hygiene
and their habit of crawling on contaminated soil exposes
them to infection 23. Also, the prevalence of helminthiasis
decreased with increasing age with the last age group (˃ 60)
harbouring no parasites at all. This is in accordance with the
findings of Seleshi et al., 24 who said it is probably due to the
mature way adults handle personal hygiene; Susan 25
observed that immunity against intestinal helminths increases
with age due to higher level of acquired immunity in the
older ones. In contrast, these results did not agree with the
report of Abelau et al., 1 in Nigeria who found helminth
parasites to be most common among the adult ages from 20-
50years and Payne et al., 26 in prison inmates in Dschang,
Cameroon due to indiscriminate eating when permitted to go
out and work without surveillance. Hookworms infections
tend to occur in almost all age groups. This is similar to the
reports of Hesham et al., 27 who suggests that the differences
in mode of infection and infectious stages in hookworm as
compared to A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura may explain
why Hookworm infection tends to occur in older age groups
given that most populations of rural communities are
embedded in agriculture in which they work barefooted on
daily basis.
The prevalence of intestinal helminthiasis varied
significantly between the different localities with Bamedji
harbouring most of the parasites. This could be attributed to
some ecological factors such as temperature, relative
humidity and rainfall 31 which affect the epidemiology of
these parasites as well as their social habits, the standard of
personal and environmental hygiene.
The current study reported students and farmers with high
prevalence of intestinal helminthiasis. This is in agreement
with the records of Akinseye et al., 20 who suggest that the
high prevalence of STH among these adolescents could be
associated with poverty in the area, poor hygiene and
sanitation. Higher percentage of the population lives in mud
housing. These people are predominantly farmers using bare
hands during farming, depending solely on stream water and
uncovered wells for their drinking water, which may be
polluted from the source with faecal materials as children
defecate in their surrounding environment.
Another important factor is the level of education of
individuals. The present study revealed very high prevalence
(28.6%) in those from the primary level of education. One
can conclude that they are ignorant of the dangers that await
them when they do not take personal and environmental
hygiene into consideration. This calls for the need of an
integrated approach that includes education on personal
hygiene, improved sanitary and environmental conditions
and provisions of portable drinking water which are
inevitable measures in achieving a sustainable elimination of
these infections 20.
Multiple helminth infection is a common phenomenon in
areas where different types of parasites are encountered.
Cases of simple, double and triple infections were observed
with respective prevalence of 6.4%, 1.8% and 0.2% in the
total study population. The highest infections were single
infections where 2.4%, 2.4%, 1.5% and 0.1% of the total
population harboured only A. lumbricoides,T. trichiura,
Hookworm and C. hepatica respectively. Three types of
double parasitisms were identified with A. lumbricoides + T.
trichiura being the most prevalent (1.6%). This is similar to
the report of Nougning 1 which revealed only this association

International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medical Sciences 2017; 3(2): 14-22 20
with a prevalence rate of 1.58% and Ngangnang 28 who
recorded a 0.5% rate for this association in the Littoral
Region of Cameroon but different from that of Agbolade et
al., 4 who recorded the most prevalent co-infection as that of
scariasis + hookworm and Tesfahun and Achenef 29 who
revealed highest double infection in Schistosoma mansoni +
A. lumbricoides. This might be due to the fact that both
parasites have the same mode of transmission (faeco-oral).
The two other associations were those of A. lumbricoides+
Hookworm which is in line with the results of Akinseye et
al., 20 and C. hepatica + Hookworm with a prevalence of
0.1% each. Only one triple infection was identified: A.
lumbricoides + T. trichiura + Hookworm. This is in
agreement with the report of Agbolade et al., 4 and Hesham
et al., 27 where 25% was infected with a combination of
trichuriasis, ascariasis and Hookworm infection but different
from the combination of S. mansoni + A. lumbricoides +
Hookworms observed by Tesfahun and Achenef 29. This is
probably due to local endemicity of the study area for these
three helminth parasites, free interaction between the host
and the contaminated environment and most of all absence of
competitive exclusion between the different parasites 14.
The egg count method as a measure of intensity of
intestinal helminth infections, although susceptible to errors
of sampling due to periodicity of egg production by female
worms and uneven distribution of eggs in faeces, is still
widely used 30. The intensity of helminth infections in this
study has been assessed by egg counts where Ascaris
lumbricoides (2594.44 ± 3897.174) showed the highest
parasitic-mean intensity and C. hepatica (50 ± 00) the lowest.
This was in line with the observations of Maffo tatsinkouet
al., 14. This could be attributed to the fact that Ascaris has a
higher egg output (200,000 egg per day) compared to
Trichuris and hookworm and that C. hepatica is an
exceptionally rare infection in humans and where both
worms and eggs could not be easily detected in stools of
infected hosts. However, the cornerstone of diagnosis still
remains the liver biopsy 31, 32. The mean parasitic intensity
for each nematode obtained in the present study was lower as
compared to that obtained by Wabo Poné et al., 11. These
authors registered 3722 ± 5677, 563 ± 982 and 875 ± 1462
for A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura and Hookworm respectively.
The categorization of the intensity of infection due to A.
lumbricoides, T. trichiura, the Hookwormsand C. hepatica
showed that majority of the sampled population harboured no
parasites. However, 77.01% of infections were light infections.
This high rate of light infection is in agreement with the
findings of Bethony et al., 33; Zadock 13; Megwi 34 and Maffo
tatsinkou et al., 14 who reported a 100% light infection. This
might be attributed to the method used for egg count per gram
of faeces as the Mcmaster technique used in the present study
is less sensitive as compared to the Kato Katz technique. This
can also be explained by the range of values used for
classification; that means in the present study, the classification
used by Deuyo 35 was adopted. Only A. lumbricoides had
heavy infections. It could be related to the fact that eggs of A.
lumbricoides can remain viable in the soil for long periods
because they are resistant to extremes temperatures than the
eggs of other parasites 36. This is consistent with the findings
of Megwi 34 in the Western Region of Cameroon and WHO 37
who reported that intestinal parasites are neither evenly nor
randomly distributed among hosts, but tend to aggregate in a
few heavily infected individuals. All Hookworm infections
(100%) were light infections. This is probably due to the fact
that, most of these infections occurred instead in children as it
is known that heavier infections occur during adulthood 38, 39.
5. Conclusion
This work showed a relatively low prevalence of gastro-
intestinal helminths in our study area, a proof of the
effectiveness of the national de-worming campaigns but
could reach endemic proportions in cases of non- treatment
and non respect of sanitary rules. So, it is better to say that
prevention is better than cure and health education is one of
the key factors to the realization of the Cameroon’s vision as
an emerging nation by the year 2035.
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