ISSN 2736-173X
African Journal of Malaria and Tropical Diseases ISSN 2736-173X Vol. 12 (1), pp. 001-008, January, 2024. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Community perceptions of sleeping sickness in Bipindi: Insights for effective intervention programs
Guy R Njitchouang1*, André Domche1,2, Laurentine Sumo3, Jeanne C Sondi-Dissake1,2, Cédric G. Lenou-Nanga1 , Alphonse Acho4 and Hugues C. Nana-Djeunga1,2
1Centre for Research on Filariasis and other Tropical Diseases (CRFilMT), P. O. Box 5797, Yaounde, Cameroon.
2Parasitology and Ecology Laboratory, Department of Animal Biology and Physiology, Faculty of Science, P. O. Box 812, University of Yaounde 1, Yaounde, Cameroon.
3Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Bamenda, P. O. Box 39 Bambili, Cameroon.
4Programme National de Lutte contre la Trypanosomiase Humaine Africaine (PNLTHA), Ministry of Public Health, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Accepted 17 October, 2023
Socio-economic and socio-demographic factors have been considered as critical in disease epidemiology and need to be taken into consideration when designing health interventions. It is therefore strongly recommended to investigate population ownership to ensure sustainability of a given intervention. To this end, a household-based cross sectional survey was conducted to assess knowledge and perceptions regarding sleeping sickness and its control among populations of the four epicenter villages (Lambi, Bidjouka, Memel 1, and Ebimimbang) of the Bipindi sleeping sickness focus (South Region, Cameroon). It was found that the population of Bipindi is stable (64.0% of participants having spent on average 22 years in this focus), with high education level (64.8% having reached at least the secondary level). Overall, 92.8% (95% CI: 86.9-96.2) of the participants were aware of sleeping sickness or Human Africa Trypanosomiasis (HAT) and 68.3% (95% CI: 59.6-75.9) have been in contact with people who had suffered from this disease. Males had better knowledge of sleeping sickness clinical signs and mode of transmission than their female counterparts. Knowledge was associated both with gender (males exhibiting better knowledge of clinical signs and mode of transmission than females) and age group (participants aged 30-57 years having heard of HAT more frequently than people of other age groups). These findings suggest that the population of Bipindi exhibit knowledge and perceptions that can be useful for appropriation and sustainability of control interventions.
Key words: Sleeping sickness, knowledge, perception, Bipindi, Cameroon.