Assessing Health Threats of Residents Living Close to Household Refuse Collection Points in Yaoundé, Centre Region, Cameroon

Aims: Household wastes constitute favorable environment for the development of human pathogens, posing thus important public health problem in the absence of appropriate waste management. This study aimed to assess health problems of people living close to household refuse collection points in the city of Yaoundé.

Study Design: The prospective and cross-sectional study consisted of collecting stool samples from the populations in 12 quarters of Yaoundé around Hygiene and Sanitation in Cameroon refuse collection sites from November 2019 to February 2020.

Methodology: Stool samples collected were treated with the formol ether and Kato-Katz technics. Questionnaires were administered to volunteer participants to evaluate risk factors related to contamination.

Results: Of the 252 stool samples collected from participants aged 4 to 60 years, 209 (82.9%) individuals were infected with at least one species of intestinal pathogens. The pathogens identified belong to Helminthes (16.7%): Ascaris lumbricoides (12.3%), Trichirus trichiura (3.2%), hookworms (5.5%), to Protozoa: Entamoeba histolytica (11.5%), Entamoeba coli (13.5%), and Yeast Candida spp. (76.1%). Infection rate varied significantly by neighborhood (P= 0.02). The distance between residence and the collection point (P= 0.004); hand washing with soap before meals (P = 0.001); frequency of abdominal pain (P= 0.001); the date of the last deworming (P= 0.003); promiscuity (P= 0.005); source of water supply (P= 0.002) and the distance between the water source and the collection point (P = 0.006) were the main risk factors for the transmission of intestinal parasitosis.

Conclusion: The results of this study show that people living close to HYSACAM dumpsites could be exposed to high risk of contamination of pathogens which develop and are propagated from these areas. An appropriate management house hood wastes collection point is indispensable in maintaining the neighborhood population in a healthy status.