Epidemiology of concomitant infections due to Loa loa, Mansonella perstans, and Onchocerca volvulus in rain forest villages of Cameroon

Abstract.

An epidemiological survey was conducted in 16 remote villages of the rain forest of southern Cameroon to ascertain the prevalence and intensity of three species of filariae: Loa loa, Onchocerca volvulus, and Mansonella perstans. We examined 1458 individuals for blood-dwelling microfilariae and 1255 of these were also for the presence of palpable nodules. All the villages surveyed were found highly endemic for onchocerciasis and mansonellosis with prevalence ranging from 28.44% to 87.17% for O. volvulus and 52.48% to 100% for M. perstans. The intensities of infection were also found high for M. perstans with arithmetic means of microfilaremia ranging from 280.94 to 4947.57 mf/ml. The loiasis prevalence was relatively low with value from 2.22% to 19.23%. Males were found more infected than females for the three species of filariae, and the prevalence and intensities of microfilaremia vary differently in males and females at different ages. The three species of filariae displayed different degrees of association in the inhabitants with a low prevalence of co-occurrence between L. loa/O. volvulus and between L. loa/M. perstans. In contrast, there was a high prevalence of co-occurrence between M. perstans and O. volvulus. The implications of the co-occurrence of the three species of filariae in the populations of these remote villages on the intervention programs based on mass treatment with mectizan are discussed.