Epidemiology of helminth infections in adults in rural rainforest communities of the Nkam-Wouri River Basin, Littoral Region of Cameroon: Implications for NTDs elimination using preventive chemotherapies

@article{ebob2026epidemiology,
  title = {{Epidemiology of helminth infections in adults in rural rainforest communities of the Nkam-Wouri River Basin, Littoral Region of Cameroon: Implications for NTDs elimination using preventive chemotherapies}},
  author = {Anita Bate Obi Ebob and Narcisse Victor Tchamatchoua Gandjui and Benjamin Lenz and Emmanuel Ouam and Juluis Visnel Foyet and Amuam Andrew Beng and Fanny Fri Fombad and Franck Noel Nietcho and Manuel Ritter and Indulekha Karunakaran and Ndialle Nordine Mponge and Lucy Cho Nchang and Cheng Wang and Fonyuy Brandon Tahnteng and Jerome Fru Cho and Mathias Eyong Esum and Tatiana Djikeussi Katcho and Achim Hoerauf and Marc P Hübner and Samuel Wanji},
  journal = {PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pntd.0014780},
  url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0014780},
  note = {CC BY},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Epidemiology of helminth infections in adults in rural rainforest communities of the Nkam-Wouri River Basin, Littoral Region of Cameroon: Implications for NTDs elimination using preventive chemotherapies
AU  - Anita Bate Obi Ebob
AU  - Narcisse Victor Tchamatchoua Gandjui
AU  - Benjamin Lenz
AU  - Emmanuel Ouam
AU  - Juluis Visnel Foyet
AU  - Amuam Andrew Beng
AU  - Fanny Fri Fombad
AU  - Franck Noel Nietcho
AU  - Manuel Ritter
AU  - Indulekha Karunakaran
AU  - Ndialle Nordine Mponge
AU  - Lucy Cho Nchang
AU  - Cheng Wang
AU  - Fonyuy Brandon Tahnteng
AU  - Jerome Fru Cho
AU  - Mathias Eyong Esum
AU  - Tatiana Djikeussi Katcho
AU  - Achim Hoerauf
AU  - Marc P Hübner
AU  - Samuel Wanji
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/09
JO  - PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0014780
UR  - https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0014780
AB  - Background: Chronic helminth infections cause serious health problems; however, limited data on prevalence and distribution hinder effective control interventions. This study assessed the prevalence, distribution, and risk factors of helminth infections in adults across four health districts (HD) in the Littoral Region of Cameroon, while hypothesizing that helminth infection prevalences are significantly higher in densely forested and wetland forest plantation districts compared to degraded and mosaic plantation forest districts despite over more than two decades of preventive chemotherapy. Methodology/Principal Findings: Adults aged 18 – 65 years residing in the community for ≥ 5 years were recruited across four HDs. Skin snips, thick blood films, and stool samples were examined using the Kato Katz method (stool) and microscopy. Demographic data were analyzed in R. Participants were mainly farmers (79.9%), male (52.9%) and aged 18–49 years (50.7%). Yabassi HD, a densely forested area, recorded the highest prevalence of Loa loa and Mansonella perstans, while Loum HD, a wetland forest plantation area, showed higher prevalence for other helminth groups. Overall infection prevalence was 41.9%, dominated by filariasis (33.3%), with Onchocerca volvulus (23.9%) being most common, followed by M. perstans (11.9%) and L. loa (8.9%). Intestinal nematode prevalence was 9.9%, led by Capillaria spp. (4.6%), Ascaris lumbricoides (2.9%) and Trichuris trichiura (2.7%). Trematode infections included Dicrocoelium dendriticum (6.9%) and Paragonimus spp. (3.5%), while Taenia spp. (3.1%) was the most common cestode. Infections were more frequent in males and individuals over 40 years. Strong associations were observed among parasites with similar life cycles, Filariasis risk increased with age ≥ 50 years and longer residence, whereas recent deworming and higher education reduced the odds. Conclusions/Significance: Adult helminth infections pose a public health risk and may serve as transmission reservoirs in child-centred programs. Monitoring and including adults in preventive chemotherapy programs, promoting regular deworming and awareness and using a multi-parasite, multi-pathway strategy will strengthen control and elimination efforts in persistently endemic areas. Author summary: Helminths are parasitic worms affecting over 1.5 billion people globally. These infections lead to nutritional deficiencies, immune suppression, and increased vulnerability to other diseases. In Cameroon, only five helminth infections, ascariasis, trichuriasis, hookworm infections, schistosomiasis and onchocerciasis are currently being controlled, leaving a majority like loiasis, mansonellosis, taeniasis and others whose continuous presence interferes with the ongoing control interventions. Control efforts include annual Preventive Chemotherapy (PC) for schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis through school-based deworming, and Community Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI) for onchocerciasis. Currently, no vaccines are registered for human helminth infections, and the available drugs have limited efficacy. There is also limited or no data on disease prevalence and distribution. To achieve the WHO 2021–2030 road map goals for controlling helminth infections, robust surveillance and expanded interventions will be needed. Thus, this study aims to fill data gaps by assessing the prevalence, distribution, and risk factors of helminth infections in rural communities across four health districts in the Littoral Region of Cameroon.
SN  - 1935-2735
SN  - 1935-2727
ER  -