1. Anaemia in asymptomatic parasite carriers living in urban, rural and peri-urban settings of Gabon.
- Author
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Moutongo Mouandza R, M'bondoukwe NP, Obiang Ndong GP, Nzaou Nziengui A, Batchy Ognagosso FB, Nziengui Tirogo C, Moutombi Ditombi B, Mawili-Mboumba DP, and Bouyou-Akotet MK
- Subjects
- Adult, Animals, Cross-Sectional Studies, Gabon epidemiology, Humans, Plasmodium falciparum, Prevalence, Anemia epidemiology, Malaria, Falciparum, Parasites
- Abstract
Background: This cross-sectional study was carried out in different settlements of Gabon to determine the influence of single or multiple parasite carriage on haemoglobin (Hb) levels., Methods: Between April 2015 and June 2016, healthy volunteers from urban, peri-urban and rural areas were screened for malaria, blood filariasis and intestinal parasitic infections using microscopic methods. Hb concentration was measured with a Hemocue analyser. The association between parasite carriage and anaemia was assessed., Results: Among the 775 volunteers examined, 319 (41.2%) were from rural villages and 76.0% were adults. Filariasis, intestinal parasitic infections, Plasmodium falciparum and polyparasitism were detected in 15.6, 14.6, 9.5 and 6.8% of participants, respectively. Anaemia prevalence was 72.6%, with rates of mild, moderate and severe anaemia being 30.9, 61.1 and 8.0%, respectively. The median Hb level was lowest in the presence of hookworms (7.1 g/dl [interquartile range {IQR} 6.8-7.5]), Schistosoma intercalatum (6.9 g/dl), Trichuris trichiura (10.1 g/dl [IQR 8.9-11.5]) and Plasmodium falciparum (10.0 g/dl [IQR 9.1-11.2]) compared with filariaemia (12.1 g/dl [IQR 10.5-13.2]) (p=0.03). Moderate to severe anaemia predominated among those single-infected with P. falciparum (69.5%) or co-infected with intestinal parasitic infections and P. falciparum (76.2%), while it was found in only 23.2% of individuals with filariasis. All participants with soil-transmitted helminths and more than half with a Blastocystis sp. (68.8%) infection had moderate anaemia., Conclusions: The prevalence of anaemia is high. Asymptomatic parasite carriage is associated with anaemia in this surveyed population in Gabon., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.)
- Published
- 2020
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