Abstract:
INTRODUCTION : Onchocerciasis is an infection caused by Onchocerca volvulus. It affects 37 million people of which 99% are in Africa. This study
assessed the prevalence of onchocerciasis after 15 years of mass drug administration with ivermectin. METHODS : this was a population based cross
sectional study. Questionnaires covering participants' identity and attitudes and practices of community respondents towards ivermectin were
administered. The treatment coverage was obtained by review of records of mass drug administration from 1999 to 2015. The epidemiological
evaluation of infection status was done by parasitological examination of skin snips and nodule palpation in individuals in five health areas of the
district. RESULTS : A total of 400 participants were randomly selected. Of these, 56.0% were males, 62.0% single, 59.5% farmers and 98.0%
Christians. Participants with good attitudes towards community directed treatment with ivermectin made up 80.5% while 47.8% of the participants
had good practice. The highest treatment coverage achieved was 88.0% in 2010 while lowest was 57.0% in 2002. Less than 2% had microfilaria
and 6.0% had nodules. There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of microfilaria with respect to age. There was a statistically
significant difference in the distribution of nodules (χ2=73.6, p=0.001) among the different age groups. The greatest rate of infection (2.1%) was
among farmers. CONCLUSION : this study showed that the prevalence reduced compared to other prevalence studies in Cameroon. The study area
was hypo-endemic for onchocerciasis.
