Pan African Medical Journal
Journal / Pan African Medical Journal / Vol. 40 No. 1 (2021) / Articles

download PDF

Published:

Oct 7, 2021

Keywords:

Typhoid fever; Salmonella typhi; prevalence; stool culture; Cameroon

Issue

Vol. 40 No. 1 (2021)

Section

Articles

Brief summary of the agreement Anyone is free: · to copy, distribute, and display the work; · to make derivative works; · to make commercial use of the work; Under the following conditions: Attribution · the original author must be given credit; · for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are; · any of these conditions can be waived if the authors gives permission. Statutory fair use and other rights are in no way affected by the above

Heasla Fibuonu Njoya

Department of Biomedical Sciences PO Box 067, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon

Mbunka Muhamed Awolu

Department of Biomedical Sciences PO Box 067, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon

Tume Bonglavnyuy Christopher

Department of Biomedical Sciences PO Box 067, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon

Jutcha Florent Duclerc

Department of Biomedical Sciences PO Box 067, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon

Jerome Ateudjieu

Department of Biomedical Sciences PO Box 067, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon

Frankline Sevidzem Wirsiy

Pfizer Scholar, One Young World (OYW), 10 Queen Street Place, London, United Kingdom

Catherine Atuhaire

Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda

Samuel Nambile Cumber

Office of the Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa; Institute of Health and Caring Sciences, the Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

Abstract

Introduction: typhoid fever is a systemic infectious disease caused by the bacteria Salmonella enterica subspecies (typhi). It is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed at determining the prevalence and awareness of the mode of transmission of Salmonella typhi among patients at the Saint Elisabeth General Hospital Shisong of Cameroon.

Methods: the study carried out from March 1^st, 2017 to May 31^st, 2017 recruited patients who presented at the hospital with clinical signs and symptoms of typhoid fever and who had lab requests for stool culture requested by the resident physician. The prevalence of Salmonella typhi infections among the patients and the proportion of patients with adequate knowledge on the mode of transmission of Salmonella typhi were estimated at a 95% CI. Data were analyzed using Epi info7.1.3.3.

Results: out of the 172 patients recruited for the studies, 52 (30.1%) were diagnosed with Salmonella typhi, 59.6% of which were male. Also, 3 (5.8%) were diagnosed with Salmonella paratyphoid A. A positive correlation between knowledge on the mode of transmission of Salmonella typhi and the level of education was established, showing that 92% of participants with a higher level of education indicating that typhoid fever can be contracted through consumption of contaminated water.

Conclusion: high prevalence of typhoid fever was observed in our study. The unawareness of the patients on typhoid fever and its contraction through contaminated water and food was positively correlated to the level of educations of the patients. These findings, therefore, suggest a public health challenge faced by inhabitants in this region where typhoid fever remains endemic. Scarcity of potable water, improper drainage systems, and problems of unsanitary toilets in Cameroon require urgent intervention.

Journal Identifiers

eISSN: 1937-8688