Intestinal parasitic infections among pregnant woman at Bafang district hospital, west region of Cameroon: Prevalence and associated factors

Background: Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) remains a serious public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). IPIs caused by helminths and protozoan parasites are common among pregnant women. Data on the national pooled prevalence of IPIs and associated factors during pregnancy is not well documented in Cameroon. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of IPIs and associated factors among pregnant women at the Bafang district hospital (BDH) in the West region of Cameroon. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study from May, 30th to Jun, 24th 2022 among pregnant women aged between 14 to 48 years old (mean age: 27.41 ± 6.67 years old) at BDH in the West region of Cameroon. Stool samples were freshly collected from each pregnant woman in a clean container and examined fresh, then concentrated with 10% formalin-ether to increase the yield of the eggs and larvae. Statistical analyses were performed using Epi Info v. 7 and IBM SPSS version 20 software with any value of p<0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: Of the 156 pregnant women examined, 13.46% (n=21) were infected and among them, 90.48% were mono-infected and 9.52% were double-infected. The species mainly found were Entamoeba histolytica (5.77%) for protozoa and Strongyloides stercoralis (1.28%) for helminths. The prevalence of IPIs was high in pregnant women aged <30 years (66.67%), in those with a secondary education (90.48%) and in single (42.86%). In addition, the prevalence of IPIs was more in the second trimester (42.86%) as compared to the first (28.57%) and the third trimester (28.57%) of pregnancy (p<0.05). No association was found between the prevalence of IPIs and associated factors. Conclusion: The results of this study show a high prevalence of IPIs among pregnant women at the BDH with Entamoeba histolytica and Strongyloides stercoralis as the majority species in circulation.