Prevalence of Water Borne Diseases within Households in the Bamendankwe Municipality-North West Cameroon

Abstract

In the developing countries four-fifth of all the illnesses are caused by water-borne diseases with diarrhea leading to dehydration being the leading cause of childhood death. Cholera, typhoid fever and hepatitis A are caused by bacteria, and are among the most common diarrheal diseases. Other illnesses, such as dysentery, are caused by parasites that live in water contaminated by the feces of sick individuals. The most common manifestation and cause of mortality in water borne diseases were as result of dehydration due to loss of copious amounts of electrolytes either in vomiting or diarrhea. The research question for the study was: What knowledge do households in Bamendankwe village possess in the practice of the prevention of water-borne diseases and what measures are employed in the prevention of the occurrence of water-borne diseases? The general objective was to assess the knowledge and practices of households in Bamendankwe village in the prevention of the occurrence of water-borne diseases; identify the problems encountered in its prevention and ascertain practical measures to be employed to resolve their occurrence. The specific objectives were: to assess the knowledge of households on the causes of water borne diseases; to determine the practical measures put in place to prevent the occurrence of water borne diseases; to identify the problems they face in the practice of the preventive measures against water borne diseases and to ascertain opinions of households on how to resolve difficulties/constraints in the implementation of preventive measures against water borne diseases.The descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed for the study where-in primary data was collected at one point in time from inhabitants of Bamendankwe municipality in order to collect responses on their knowledge and practices in the prevention of waterborne diseases as well as the constraints encountered in the prevention of its occurrence. The target population for this study comprised of youths, men and women who have lived in this village within the past 6 months irrespective of their sex, religion, occupation, nationality and socio-economic status. A sample size of 120 respondents was recruited for the study. Results show that out 120 respondents, 44 (37%) had basic education, 40(33%) went to secondary school and 36 (30%) attained university education. Eighty (67%) said water borne diseases were diseases transmitted by pathogenic micro-organisms, 40(33%) said that water borne diseases were diseases caused by drinking water from doubtful sources. They gave diverse responses as to the different types of waterborne diseases; with 18 (18%) out of the 60(60%) knew of typhoid, 15(25%) named cholera, 12(20%) talked of diarrhea, 10(17%) point out malaria and 5(8%) of the 60 knew of dysentery. Concerning the complications that ensue from waterborne pathologies, 40(33.3%) said severe dehydration can result as a complication of water borne diseases, 32 (26.6%), 40(33.3%) said death can result while 08 (6.6%) said it can result to hypovolemia. Thirty-six (30%) of respondents both faced financial and educational constraints in the prevention of water diseases, 30(25%) said they lack time, and 18 (15%) said it was difficult due to lack of community water project. Diverse proposal were made to salvage the encountered problems; 20% proposed frequent hand-washing, 25% proposed keeping containers always clean, 22% proposed the construction of pipe-borne stand-pipes, 17% proposed health educational lectures on waterborne diseases while 6% wished filters be provided in homes. From the data collected, and analysis made it be can be concluded that there exist knowledge deficit on the causes of water-borne diseases as well as the practical measures employed in the prevention of their occurrence as evidenced by the diverse responses gotten from them. Their understanding of the notions of hygiene and sanitation, the knowledge and practices on the prevention of water-borne diseases were not based on the level of education but on how much information they got via public health education concerning the causes and preventive measures of water-borne diseases. So, an up-to-date knowledge and practices on the prevention of the occurrence of water-borne diseases through corporate approach by stakeholders is necessary for the wellbeing of the Bamendankwe community. The Bamendankwe Council hygiene and sanitation officers should take it a responsibility to organize regular household checks for the availability of properly constructed toilet facilities in homes and equally provide public health education lectures in social institutions in order to enlighten the community on the importance of constructing appropriate toilets with lids at a satisfactory distance from the households to avoid flies contaminating foodstuffs.