Ecological site distribution of sand fly species of Mokolo, an endemic focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis in northern Cameroon

Leishmaniasis is a vector borne disease present in two major clinical forms (cutaneous and visceral) in the northern part of Cameroon. The disease is classified as a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Orga-nization and thus, requires more attention. The aim of this study was to correlate the previously established composition and abundance of sand fly fauna with the putative vector status and the ecological behavior in the Mokolo cutaneous leishmaniasis focus to propose fighting strategies integrating vectors control. Over a 12-month period light traps were used for sand flies' collection in urban, peri-urban and sylvatic environment found in Mokolo, an endemic focus of leishmanisis in northern Cameroon, microscope and taxo-nomic keys were used for their identification. Nineteen (19) species were identified belonging to the genera Sergentomyia, and Phlebotomus. The influence of human population density on sand fly's species density and composition was assessed trough the evaluation of ecological distribution of sand flies in Mokolo. It came out that, Se. coronula and Se. thomsoni mandarai are strictly wild species and Ph. duboscqi, a domestic species. The other species are generalists.The number of Se. antennata and Se. adami decreases with the increase of the density of human population while Se. distincta, Se. vorax and Ph. duboscqi increase with the density of human population in the study site. Based on its previous reports in the Leishmania transmission in West Africa, Ph. duboscqi should still be considered as the main suspected vector in Mokolo. Ph. duboscqi, Se. distincta, Se. affinis ssp. vorax and Se. schwetzi are highly represented around human dwellings

自由:21 各種霊長類こおけるC型肝炎ウイルス感染の有無について(II 共同利用研究 2.研究成果)

Leishmaniasis is endemic in northern Cameroon. However, the sand fly vectors have not been incriminated. A sand fly species inventory was generated by integrating a number of techniques. Miniature light traps were used for collecting sand flies in a variety of ecotopes found across the area, and a morphological and molecular identification approach for taxonomic confirmation was undertaken. In a pilot survey conducted in September 2012, we captured 687 sand flies, 259 of which were morphologically identified to species level. They represent 14 species of the genera Sergentomyia and Grassomyia. No Phlebotomus spp. were found. A second series of collections was carried out during 2013 in five different environmental setups: two urban, two peri-urban/rural and one sylvatic; 14,036 sand flies (6665 males and 7371 females) were collected. A total of 5926 females and 98 males were morphologically identified to species level, representing 19 species of the genera Sergentomyia, Grassomyia and Phlebotomus, including Ph. duboscqi, a known vector of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the region. Two new taxa were found and are described: Sergentomyia (Sintonius) thomsoni mandarai ssp. nov. and Se. coronula sp. nov. Our study is the first to report the following species in Cameroon: Se. (Sin.) thomsoni (as ssp. nov. mandarai), Se. (Ser.) cincta, Se. (Sin.) affinis ssp. vorax, Se. (Sin.) adami, Se. (Sin.) herollandi, and Se. (Sin.) christophersi. In addition, some morphologically atypical Sergentomyia specimens (combination of Ser. x Sin. traits) were recorded. A checklist of 32 species reports from Cameroon is presented

Intestinal Helminth Infections and Associated Risk Factors among School-Aged Children of Bamendjou Community, West Region of Cameroon

Background. Infection with intestinal nematodes is of major public health concern worldwide, and school-age children and pregnant women are the principal victims. The present study was undertaken to provide baseline information on the status of gastrointestinal nematodes among school-age children in Bamendjou. Material and Methods. Four hundred and ninety-three (493) stool samples were collected from school children in six (6) different schools (two nursery, two primary, and two secondary schools). Qualitative and quantitative analyses of stool samples were done using the simple flotation and McMaster count techniques, respectively. Results. Among the 493 participants, 57 (11.6%) stool samples were positive for at least one nematode species. Four nematodes are as follows: Ascaris sp., Trichuris sp., hookworms, and Strongyloides sp. with respective prevalence and intensities of infection of 6.1% and 2260±6377.98, 3.4% and 223.53±264.054, 3.0% and 416.67±427.061, and 0.2% and 200±00, respectively. The data on the prevalence of nematodes with respect to sex showed that females (13.1%) were more infected than males (12.2%) (P>0.05). Furthermore, with respect to age, older children were more infected than younger ones. Cases of double parasitism were encountered with a prevalence of 1.2%. According to the fecal concentration of eggs, 61.90% of the infections were light. Risk factors such as drinking water from streams and not wearing shoes all the time were significant with infections. Conclusion. The relatively low overall prevalence (11.6%) obtained in this study shows that the national deworming campaign is proving effective, though a more holistic approach is required to prevent infections from bouncing back after such campaigns