Prevalence of parasites in cockroaches and perception on their influence in disease transmission in Mubi-south, Adamawa state, Nigeria

Abstract

Cockroaches are insects of significant medical importance because of their tendencies in transmitting diseases mechanically. This study was performed to determine the incidence of gastrointestinal parasites in the guts and body surfaces of cockroaches in the residential and hospital areas, and the perception of their role in disease transmission in Mubi-South, Adamawa State. Two hundred cockroaches (100 each from the residential and hospital areas respectively) were collected from various households and hospital areas in Mubi-South, and were screened for gastrointestinal parasites in the laboratory. A well-structured questionnaire was used to source data on peoples’ perception on the role of cockroaches in disease transmission. The result revealed eight parasites (A. lumbricoides, E. coli, E. hystolitica, G. lamblia, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus spp . and Streptococcus spp.) prevalent in the cockroaches collected. Out of the 200 cockroaches collected, only 62(31.0 %) tested positive for gastrointestinal parasites. A. lumbricoides was the predominant species of parasites, while the least was G. lamblia (1 %). The result also revealed the preponderance of parasites in cockroaches collected from the hospital (39 %) than residential (23 %). Also, there were more parasites encountered in body surfaces (61.3 %) of cockroaches than guts (38.7 %). The perception on the role of cockroaches in disease transmission revealed that cockroaches are potential mechanical transmitters of disease pathogens. Therefore, there is need to improve good sanitary measures in our environments in order to contain the influence of cockroaches in the spread of disease, most especially in hospital areas, where cockroach infestation is high.

Keywords: Cockroaches, Disease transmission, Gastrointestinal parasites, Hospital, Mubi-South, Residential area