Urogenital Schistosomiasis in Likomba Community, Fako Division, South West Region, Cameroon

Background: Urogenital Schistosomasis (US) is the second most neglected tropical disease to malaria. It is estimated that about 600-700 million people Worldwide are at risk of contracting this disease. In Cameroon more than 5million people are at the risk of infection. Clinical manifestations of US include haematuria, dysuria, lower abdominal pain and bladder cancer. Praziquantel is the drug of choice.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of Urogenital Schistosomiais in Likomba community in Fako Division.

Methods: A community based cross- sectional study was carried out from February till March 2020. A structured questionnaire was administered to 363 participants through a convenient sampling technique. We obtained information on socio-demographic data, clinical history of the participants, knowledge of the disease and other risk factors associated with Urogenital Schistosomiasis. Urine samples were collected to detect Schistosoma haematobium eggs using the centrifugation technique. Data was collected and analyzed using statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 24.

Results: Out of the 363 participants a total of 101 tested positive to Schistosoma haematobium infection having and overall prevalence of 27.8%. The most infected age group ranged from 5 - 13 years which had a prevalence of 49.5% while the least infected age group found within ≥ 47 years had a prevalence of 9.9%. The prevalence of US in females was 63.4% which was higher than that of males 36.6%, this difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05).The risk factors associated with US included; the availability of tap water (P<0.05), the source of drinking (P<0.05), number of times they go the stream (Ndongo) (P<0.005) and various sites of taking their bath (P>0.05).

Conclusion: This study revealed that US is still very prevalent among the inhabitants of Likomba community, therefore there is a need for the government and community health workers to re-inforce health education, ensure the provision of adequate pipe born water and campaign strategies which will educate and significantly help reduce the prevalence of the disease in this area.