Prevalence of Waterborne Protozoan Parasites in Two Rural Villages in the West Province of Cameroon

The prevalence of the waterborne protozoan parasites Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, Giardia lamblia, and Cryptosporidium parvum were investigated in Nloh and Bawa, 2 rural agrarian villages in the West Province of Cameroon, Africa. The purpose of this study was to gather baseline data prior to the installation of biosand water filters in Nloh and to determine the prevalence of these parasites in Nloh and Bawa. Human stool samples were collected during June 2007, (85 from Nloh and 114 from Bawa) and tested utilizing the Triage Micro Parasite Panel® for the presence of the aforementioned protozoans. In Nloh, prevalences of E. histolytica/dispar, G. lamblia, and C. parvum were 15.7%, 14.5%, and 3.6%, respectively; and 7.1%, 1.8%, and 0.0% in Bawa, respectively. There were no significant differences in prevalence among age groups or between genders. The prevalence of G. lamblia was significantly lower in Bawa than in Nloh. However, no significant difference was detected in the prevalences of E. histolytica/dispar between Nloh and Bawa.