West Cameroon Research Articles

Influence of the physico-chemical properties of soils on floods recurrence: case of the Mbo plain (West Cameroon)

Influence of the physico-chemical properties of soils on floods recurrence: case of the Mbo plain (West Cameroon)

Physicochemical Properties and Fertility Assessment of Soils in Foumban (West Cameroon)

Foumban is located in the West Cameroon Highlands, precisely in the Noun Valley. Given the low productivity recorded in this locality, this study aims to assess the state of soil fertility in this locality in order to redefine the major agro-ecological complexes in Cameroon. In order to achieve this objective, ninety (90) soil samples of this area were studied in order to determine their physicochemical parameters, namely, soil organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (N), available P, total P, exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg, K, and Na), cation exchange capacity (CEC), and pH of water. The results obtained showed that the soils of Foumban present three classes of fertility, namely: class one (01) includes soils with a good level of fertility that are plaggic hortic NITISOLS (arenic) (NIpha), the chernic arenic UMBRISOLS (UMca), umbric arenic FERRALSOLS (Flua), mollic fragic NITISOL (hortic) (NImfh), the cambic hortic FERRALSOLS (plaggic) (FLchp) on basalts, umbric pisoplinthic PLINTHOSOLS (haplic) (PLuph), nitic CHERNOSOLS (pretic) (CHnp), and cambic FRAGISOLS (plaggic) (FGcp) with an area of about 528.71 Km2. Class two (02) includes soils with an average level of fertility that are the pretic UMBRISOLS (UMp) only, on an area of about 226.14 Km2. Class three (03) includes soils with a poor level of fertility that are the hortic FERRALSOLS (plaggic) (FLchp) on trachytes and the cambic FRAGISOLS (plaggic) (FGcp) with an area of about 38.47 Km2. Principal component analysis (PCA) has revealed that the parameters that control fertility in Foumban soils are C/N, pHeau, Ca, CEC, OM, P, and Mg. An amendment of these soils in organic fertilizer (fluent, compost, and manure) would facilitate the formation of the clay-humus complex; thus, allowing good retention of water in the soil.

Mapping of Soil Water Erosion and Prioritization of Conservation Measures in the Noun Watershed (West Cameroon Highlands)

Soil erosion is a natural hazard that is exacerbated by human activities in the West Cameroon highlands. However, there is little information on the spatialization of this phenomenon at the territorial scale. This study is based on the use of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) model and open access data to map areas at risk of erosion and prioritize areas for soil conservation in the Noun watershed. According to the results, 22.61% of the territory is characterized by a low risk of erosion while 77.39% faces a risk of soil loss higher than the tolerable limit of 11 t/ha/year in the context of tropical and mountainous landscapes. This risk is accentuated by the loss of vegetation cover in favor of the expansion of urban and agricultural areas. The low level of sensitivity to erosion is found in the lowlands, while the areas located in the plateaus present a high level of sensitivity due to their rugged terrain and high rainfall. Statistical analysis of landslide frequency ratios shows a relationship between landslide occurrence and erosion intensity zones. Modeling of soil loss as a function of different soil protection methods shows that the strip-grass approach and terracing are the most appropriate for reducing erosion risk in this area. These methods can be combined with afforestation efforts for effective soil protection.

Prevalence, determinants and attitude towards herbal medicine use in the first trimester of pregnancy in Cameroon: A survey in 20 hospitals.

To examine the prevalence, determinants and attitude towards herbal medication (HM) use in the first trimester of pregnancy in Cameroon women. Between March to August 2015, we surveyed 795 pregnant women attending 20 randomly selected urban or rural hospitals in South West Cameroon on first trimester orthodox medication (OM) and HM use. Data was obtained by interviews using structured questionnaires. First trimester HM use was reported by 293 (36∙9%) women, 76% of whom used it in combination with OM. The most frequent indication for taking HM was prevention/treatment of anaemia (26∙3%). The HM were usually self-prescribed (33∙3%) or by family (56∙2%), and obtained from the woman's own garden (69∙3%). Twenty percent of women believed that HM was always safe to take in pregnancy, compared to 69.3% for OM. Intake of HM was significantly influenced by women's opinion on OM or HM safety-the odds of taking HM was 3 time higher among women who were unsure about the safety of OM (AOR: 3∙0, 95%CI = 1∙5-6∙1), while women who thought HM were never safe or who were unsure about its safety, were 91% or 84% respectively less likely to take HM compared to women who believed HM were always safe. We identified a high prevalence of HM use and concomitant use with OM, strongly influenced by women's perception of HM and OM safety. These findings indicate the need for WHO to specifically address safety in pregnancy in its policy to integrate traditional medicine use into existing healthcare systems in Africa.

Cultural Practices and Health-Seeking Behaviours of the Mbororo Community in Mezam Division of North West Cameroon

Cultural Practices and Health-Seeking Behaviours of the Mbororo Community in Mezam Division of North West Cameroon

Assessment of drinking water access and household water insecurity: A cross sectional study in three rural communities of the Menoua division, West Cameroon

Water is a physiological need, key for survival. In limited water access situations, health, well-being, and productivity of households are negatively affected. Water insecurity refers to when access to adequate amount of clean water does not occur all the times for household members to lead a healthy and active life. A cross sectional study was conducted with 121 women from three rural communities in the West-Cameroon, to assess water insecurity experience and its correlation with related indicators. Specifically, this study aimed to: examine drinking water access by time spent on collection and distance to the water source, determine the prevalence of household water insecurity, and examine the relationship between water insecurity and diarrhea as well as drinking water access-related indicators. The main sources of drinking water included boreholes (69%), wells (13%), and rivers (12%). Each household spent an average total amount of 3 hours on water fetching. The mean duration of the drinking water stored was 4 days, after which the process was repeated. The majority of households (94.2%) were water insecure (total WATINE-17 score ≥1). About 61% reported drinking less water than they felt they should and 32% of them, said they had to drink dirty water. Water insecurity mean score was higher in households who reported diarrhea among their 0–5 years old children than their counterparts (p = 0.008). This study highlights the problem that good access to improved water source still represents in low-resource households of rural areas, with the subsequent complex interactions on women and children’s health. Future research on water management and storage is warranted to understand the sources of cross-contamination and to identify the potential points of intervention to ensure safe drinking water for rural households. Policies should be designed in order to incorporate systematic household water insecurity measurement in monitoring advancement towards 2030 SDG.

Sacred Forests, Modes of Transmission of Cultural Knowledge and Security Geopolitics of Monarchs and Dignitaries Among the Bamiléké of West Cameroon

Many authors have written on problematic of natural environment in Bantu’s lands in general and in Bamiléké people in particular. In fact, those “sacred” environments represent for the population in this area, a base of spiritual and cultural life because of a relation existing between natural milieu and divine. Place of highest spiritual connotation, sacred forests are presented in this paper in various forms in accordance with attributes its takes. However, this paper present in a socio historical point of view, the conditions in which natural milieu favoring transmission of knowledge and power to monarchs of Bamilékés kingdoms in western Cameroun.

Intertribal Land Conflicts and Implications on Development in Balikumbat Sub-Division, North West Cameroon

The quest for scarce land resources in Balikumbat Sub-Division has created rivalry over abundant borderland resources between some five villages for over four decades (1980s-2020). To diagnose this issue, this paper focuses on inter-tribal land conflicts and its implications on the development of Balikumbat sub division. The study seeks to identify and spatialize the different zones/villages in Balikumbat Sub-Division where inter-tribal land conflicts are inherent in a bid to examine the causes of these conflicts so as to assess its implications on the development of this municipality. The methodology used entailed field observations, questionnaires administration, interviews and focus group discussions. Existing literature provided an important starting point for further analysis of the extent of the problem under consideration. The findings have un-earth the fact that the main inter-tribal land conflicting hot spots constitute areas rich in fertile soils. Besides, economic motives, long historical legacies, political and social motives are the leading causes for the scramble over fertile farmlands across some village boundaries in Balikumbat Sub division over time and space. The implications of these conflicts are felt mainly in the socio-economic sector. The agricultural sector ranks first with about 50% drop in agricultural output as large parcels of land are left idle due to entrenched conflicts. The peasant populations have been displaced with massive destruction of property, crops, livestock and even lives. The efforts made by the government and these local communities in the past to resolve these conflicts have yielded very little success because conflicts have remained a common idiosyncrasy as they resurface often. These findings suggest the need for intensive sensitisation to the natives of Balikumbat on the importance of owning land certificates. This may limit verbal and traditional land ownership opening flood gates for a more sustainable land ownership.

An analysis of social dimensions of podoconiosis and leprosy on affected households in endemic health districts of the North West Region of Cameroon

BackgroundPodoconiosis and leprosy are Neglected Tropical Diseases associated with low quality of life, social stigma and isolation of affected people and families. Despite the substantial social burden it imposes, podoconiosis has largely been ignored in the global health literature until recently unlike leprosy. This study assessed and compared the quality of life and social impact of podoconiosis with that of leprosy among affected households and neighborhoods in North West Cameroon. MethodsA comparative cross-sectional design was used. Eighty-six households: 43 podoconiosis and 43 leprosy, plus household neighbours were enrolled from July and August 2015 from three health districts. Podoconiosis patients living in households within Batibo and Ndop health districts were sequentially sampled using a list of confirmed podoconioisis cases from previous studies. Leprosy patients living within communities in Mejang Health Area were sequentially sampled using the Mbingo treatment center register. WHO BREF tool was used to assess quality of life. Franklin Stigma Scale was adapted to assess felt and enacted stigma. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare differences in stigma and QoL. ResultsPhysical domain showed a significant difference in the distribution in quality of life between groups (p < 0.05, median:70; U:635, r = 0.2). Overall enacted stigma revealed significant differences with p < 0.05 and r = 0.4. Overall stigma from family members (median:17, U:627 and r = 0.3) and neighbours (median:67, U:336 and r = 0.5) showed significant differences with p < 0.05 in the distribution of scores for both diseases. Sex and age showed significant associations with QoL and stigma. ConclusionThis study reveals the quality of life and stigma associated with podoconiosis on affected households to be comparable to that experienced by households with a leprosy patient. There is need for intensified preventive, management and control schemes to fight podoconiosis in Cameroon, just like leprosy.

Study protocol for assessing knowledge, attitudes and belief towards HPV vaccination of parents with children aged 9–14 years in rural communities of North West Cameroon: a qualitative study

IntroductionDespite human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine being incorporated in the National Immunisation Programme in Cameroon in 2019, HPV vaccine uptake among eligible girls has been poor (5%). The barriers to...

Prevalence and risk factors of coliform-associated mastitis and antibiotic resistance of coliforms from lactating dairy cows in North West Cameroon.

Coliform bacteria are major causative agents of bovine mastitis, a disease that has devastating effect on dairy animal health and milk production. This cross-sectional study, carried out in the North West region of Cameroon, sought to determine the prevalence of bovine mastitis, coliforms associated with bovine mastitis, risk factors for infection and the antibiotic resistance pattern of coliform bacterial isolates. A total of 1608 udder quarters were sampled from 411 cows using a questionnaire, clinical examination, California Mastitis Test and milk culture. Primary isolation of coliform bacteria was done on MacConkey agar while identification of coliforms employed Gram-staining and biochemical testing. Each coliform bacterial isolate was challenged with 11 antibiotics using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The prevalence of mastitis was 53.0% (218/411) and 33.1% (532/1608) at the cow- and quarter-levels respectively. Overall, 21.9% (90/411) cows and 8.2% (132/1608) udder quarters showed coliform mastitis. Escherichia coli was isolated in 7.0% of mastitis milk, and other coliforms isolated were Enterobacter cloacae (12.6%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (2.4%), Enterobacter sakazakii (1.1%), Klebsiella oxytoca (0.8%), Citrobacter freudii (0.4%), Serratia ficaria (0.4%) and Serratia liquefaciens (0.2%). Lactation stage, breed, history of mastitis and moist/muddy faeces contaminated environment were significantly associated (P-value < 0.05) with coliform mastitis. Coliform isolates (99.0%; 203/205) were resistant to at least one antibiotic tested. Amoxicillin had the highest resistance (88.8%) while norfloxacin had the least resistance (3.4%). Multidrug resistance was exhibited by 52.7% (108/205) of the isolates in a proportion of 27.8% Enterobacter cloacae, 10.7% E. coli, 6.3% Klebsiella pneumoniae, 2.9% Enterobacter sakazakii, 2.0% Klebsiella oxytoca, 1.0% Citrobacter freundii, 1.0% Serratia ficaria, 0.5% Serratia liquefaciens and 0.5% Serratia odorifera. Results indicate a need to educate these dairy farmers about mastitis (particularly subclinical), proper hygiene methods in milking and the public health implications of consuming contaminated raw milk.

Molecular Drivers of Multiple and Elevated Resistance to Insecticides in a Population of the Malaria Vector Anopheles gambiae in Agriculture Hotspot of West Cameroon.

(1) Background: Malaria remains a global public health problem. Unfortunately, the resistance of malaria vectors to commonly used insecticides threatens disease control and elimination efforts. Field mosquitoes have been shown to survive upon exposure to high insecticide concentrations. The molecular mechanisms driving this pronounced resistance remain poorly understood. Here, we elucidated the pattern of resistance escalation in the main malaria vector Anopheles gambiae in a pesticide-driven agricultural hotspot in Cameroon and its impact on vector control tools; (2) Methods: Larval stages and indoor blood-fed female mosquitoes (F0) were collected in Mangoum in May and November and forced to lay eggs; the emerged mosquitoes were used for WHO tube, synergist and cone tests. Molecular identification was performed using SINE PCR, whereas TaqMan-based PCR was used for genotyping of L1014F/S and N1575Y kdr and the G119S-ACE1 resistance markers. The transcription profile of candidate resistance genes was performed using qRT-PCR methods. Characterization of the breeding water and soil from Mangoum was achieved using the HPLC technique; (3) Results: An. gambiae s.s. was the only species in Mangoum with 4.10% infection with Plasmodium. These mosquitoes were resistant to all the four classes of insecticides with mortality rates <7% for pyrethroids and DDT and <54% for carbamates and organophophates. This population also exhibited high resistance intensity to pyrethroids (permethrin, alpha-cypermethrin and deltamethrin) after exposure to 5× and 10× discriminating doses. Synergist assays with PBO revealed only a partial recovery of susceptibility to permethrin, alpha-cypermethrin and deltamethrin. Only PBO-based nets (Olyset plus and permaNet 3.0) and Royal Guard showed an optimal efficacy. A high amount of alpha-cypermethrin was detected in breeding sites (5.16-fold LOD) suggesting ongoing selection from agricultural pesticides. The 1014F-kdr allele was fixed (100%) whereas the 1575Y-kdr (37.5%) and the 119S Ace-1R (51.1%) were moderately present. Elevated expression of P450s, respectively, in permethrin and deltamethrin resistant mosquitoes [CYP6M2 (10 and 34-fold), CYP6Z1(17 and 29-fold), CYP6Z2 (13 and 65-fold), CYP9K1 (13 and 87-fold)] supports their role in the observed resistance besides other mechanisms including chemosensory genes as SAP1 (28 and 13-fold), SAP2 (5 and 5-fold), SAP3 (24 and 8-fold) and cuticular genes as CYP4G16 (6 and 8-fold) and CYP4G17 (5 and 27-fold). However, these candidate genes were not associated with resistance escalation as the expression levels did not differ significantly between 1×, 5× and 10× surviving mosquitoes; (4) Conclusions: Intensive and multiple resistance is being selected in malaria vectors from a pesticide-based agricultural hotspot of Cameroon leading to loss in the efficacy of pyrethroid-only nets. Further studies are needed to decipher the molecular basis underlying such resistance escalation to better assess its impact on control interventions.

The preparatory phase for ground larviciding implementation for chocerciasis control in the Meme River Basin in South West Cameroon: the COUNTDOWN Consortium alternative strategy implementation trial

BackgroundOnchocerciasis control using ivermectin alone has been achieved in some endemic savannah zones of Africa. In the forest regions, the co-endemicity with Loa loa has led to severe adverse events (SAEs) resulting in poor adherence of community members to ivermectin mass drug administration (MDA). This may jeopardize achieving the interruption of transmission of onchocerciasis. Therefore, to accelerate the elimination of onchocerciasis in L. loa co-endemic zones, alternative treatment strategies (ATS) including ground larviciding may be necessary. This study aimed at identifying Simulium breeding sites, cytospecies, transmission profile, susceptibility of Simulium larvae to insecticide (temephos) and identification of some non-target aquatic fauna prior to the implementation of the COUNTDOWN consortium ground larviciding alternative strategy in the Meme River Basin in South West Cameroon.MethodsA topographic map and entomological survey were used to determine breeding sites. Larvae and adults were identified using standard identification keys. Susceptibility tests were carried out on collected larvae by exposing them to decreasing concentrations of temephos and assessing survival rates while the cytospecies were identified using cytotaxonomy. Various entomological indicators were assessed from dissected flies. Fishing was used as proxy to traps to assess some aquatic fauna at different sites.ResultsTwenty-two breeding sites were prospected in the Meme River Basin with eight productive for larvae. A concentration of 0.5–0.1 mg/l temephos induced 100% larval mortality. As the concentration of temephos decreased from 0.05 to 0.0025 mg/l, mortality of larvae also decreased from 98.7 to 12%. Nine cytospecies were observed in the Meme River Basin; 13,633 flies were collected and 4033 dissected. A total of 1455 flies were parous (36.1%), 224 flies were infected (5.5%), and 64 were infective (1.6%). Aquatic fauna observed included Cyprinus spp., Clarias spp., crabs, tadpoles, beetles and larvae of damsel fly.ConclusionsOnchocerciasis is being actively transmitted within the Meme River Basin. Simulium larvae are susceptible to temephos, and nine cytospecies are present. Non-target fauna observed included fishes, frogs, crabs and insects. Besides treatment with ivermectin, vector control through ground larviciding may be a complementary strategy to accelerate onchocerciasis elimination in the study area.Graphical

Fumonisins in African Countries.

Maize and other cereals are the commodities most contaminated with fumonisins. The maize acreage is increasing in Africa, and the maize harvest provides important foods for humans and feeds for domestic animals throughout the continent. In North Africa, high levels of fumonisins have been reported from Algeria and Morocco, while low levels have been detected in the rather few fumonisin analyses reported from Tunisia and Egypt. The West African countries Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria all report high levels of fumonisin contamination of maize, while the few maize samples analysed in Togo contain low levels. In Eastern Africa, high levels of fumonisin contamination have been reported from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The samples analysed from Rwanda contained low levels of fumonisins. Analysis of maize from the Southern African countries Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe revealed high fumonisin levels, while low levels of fumonisins were detected in the few analyses of maize from Botswana and Mozambique.

Larval habitats characterization and population dynamics of Culex mosquitoes in two localities of the Menoua Division, Dschang and Santchou, West Cameroon

BackgroundChoosing an appropriate strategy for mosquito vector control in an eco-climatic facies requires knowledge on vector ecology including population dynamics of species and productivity of the breeding sites. The aim of this study was to characterize Culex mosquitoes breeding places and to determine their population dynamics in two localities (Dschang and Santchou) separated by a forest cliff in the West Region of Cameroon. Field surveys were conducted from November 2019 to June 2020 in Dschang and Santchou. Mosquito breeding sites were georeferenced, and for each breeding site, physical parameters were measured and immature stages were collected. The collected immatures were reared in the laboratory until adult stage. Adult mosquitoes were identified using a stereomicroscope and morphological identification keys.ResultsA total of 44 breeding sites were identified: 24 in Dschang and 20 in Santchou. They were grouped into seven types and were mostly shallow, close to human dwellings, sunny, with organic matters and of anthropogenic nature. A total of 2706 mosquitoes belonging to four genera were identified. Culex genus was the most represented (90.4%) and was made up of Culex pipiens s.l. (61.79%), Culex duttoni (23.17%) and Culex (Culiciomyia) sp. (05.46%). High abundance of Culex species was observed in Santchou (52.71%) compared to Dschang (47.28%), while Dschang (S = 3; H = 0.87; D = 0.54) recorded the greatest diversity compared to Santchou (S = 2; H = 0.23; D = 0.11).ConclusionsThe proliferation and persistence of Culex mosquitoes independently of the breeding sites and localities might be attributable to the poor environmental management which favor the creation mosquito breeding sites. This study highlights the fact that prompt sanitation measures could be undertaken in these two localities to reduce mosquito abundance and the risk of vector-borne diseases.

Effects of pozzolana addition and geogrid reinforcement of lateritic clays in the sub-Saharan zone (West Cameroon): Implications for road construction

Effects of pozzolana addition and geogrid reinforcement of lateritic clays in the sub-Saharan zone (West Cameroon): Implications for road construction

Contribution of vertical electrical soundings, Landsat 8 and SRTM images to the comparative study of the hydrogeological characteristics of the Foto, Keleng and Foreké areas, West Cameroon

The study area is located in the town of Dschang, West-Cameroon, on the southern flank of the Bambouto Mountains. The acute shortage of drinking water supply points due to lack of structural knowledge on existing aquifers. The present work allows the establishment of a hydrogeological map of the study area. The data from the vertical electrical soundings carried out on 64 points, show 12 electrical anomalies: A, H, K, Q, AK, HA, HK, HQ, KQ, KA, KH and Q; divided into two domains: a resistive domain with resistivities between 2892.63 and 27 323.56 Ω m and a conductive domain with resistivities between 0.43 and 2892.63 Ω m. The conductive domain is more represented in the basaltic zone while the most resistant domain is represented by the gneissic and the granitic zones. Hydraulic conductivity in the study area ranges from 0.004 to 44.852 m/day, porosity from 0.192% to 42.615%, longitudinal conductance from 0.001 to 1.101 Ω−1 and transmissivity values from 0.019 to 504.023 m2/day. The area includes two types of aquifers; saprolite aquifer from 1.6 to 16.26 m with a roof varying between 1.5 and 16 m and aquifers on thick fractures from 16.26 to 38.34 m with a thickness varying between 16 and 36 m. The major and minor fracturing directions are respectively N 60° to N 70° E and N 0° to N 30° E. According to the hydrogeological potentials, Foto which is made up of basaltic formation is very favourable, Foreké on granitic formation is moderately favourable and Keleng on gneissic formation is not very favourable.

Electrical Energy Consumption In Agri-Food Establishments In West Cameroon

In the West Cameroon region, agri-food establishments: bakeries, fishmongers and restaurants contribute to three quarters (3/4) of employment in the towns, turnover and added value of regional businesses. These are also the sectors that consume the most electrical energy; between them, these establishments account for more than 50% of the electrical energy consumption in the entire Western region of the country. For six months, we conducted the study in (5the) major towns of West Cameroon chosen at random (Mifi, Menoua, Bamboutos, Nde and Haut-Nkam). Field observations of recurrent power cuts and surveys of local policy makers were also conducted on the supply of electricity, which remains problematic throughout the country. Our results show that the average electricity consumption per establishment is particularly high in bakeries, at around 1441.67 KWh, compared to 1295.45 KWh for fishmongers and 371.21 KWh for restaurants. Electricity is mainly used as a driving force for thermodynamic purposes (cold rooms, deep-freezing and air-conditioning of engines in bakeries, etc.). On the other hand, it should be noted that this sector of activity faces enormous difficulties, including the inadequacy of electrical energy in terms of supply, access and quality. The electricity supplied by The Energy of Cameroon (Eneo) is still very inadequate given the high demand. It is precarious and characterised by untimely power cuts. In fact, the average power cut in the cities studied is 24 days and 20 minutes, for a period of six months. We have come to the effective conclusion that recurrent power cuts are the result of a poor electricity supply and have a significant impact on the agri-food activity, due to their dependence on this source of energy. All these problems in West Cameroon indicate that energy demand will have to increase considerably in the coming years due to population growth (+7.8%) and socio-economic development. Therefore, we believe that policy makers should turn to renewable energies which are natural energy sources such as solar and wind power. In addition, local elected officials should think about building more mini hydroelectric dams in villages to reinforce urban areas with electrical energy.

Hydrodynamic and microbiological characterisation of free ground water in the city of Bafoussam, (West Cameroon)

Abstract The work presented here aims to carry out a physical characterisation of soils to understand their hydrodynamic behaviour and estimate the susceptibility of each group of soils to microbiological pollution. The field work associated with the laboratory work consisted of monitoring the hydrodynamic behaviour of previously identified and selected well waters, measuring the permeabilities of the soil samples and analysing the bacteriological parameters of the sampled well waters. At the end of this work, the piezometric data show a dominant SE-NW and ENE-OSW flow direction. The water levels vary significantly between the wet and dry seasons. The granulometric analysis of the soils reveals CU&amp;gt;3 showing a spread out granulometry with very low permeabilities of the order of 1.58×10−7 m/s and moderately high permeabilities of the order of 1.86×10−5 m/s. The microbiological data show pollution of human origin with a high bacterial load in the rainy season represented by a maximum of 240 CFU of Escherichia coli exceeding the WHO standards for drinking water. The majority of the polluted samples come from soils developed on granites and basalts, which are the most susceptible to pollution, making the groundwater vulnerable.

Addition of digital VIA/VILI to conventional naked-eye examination for triage of HPV-positive women: A study conducted in a low-resource setting.

World Health Organization guidelines for cervical cancer screening recommend HPV testing followed by visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) for triage if HPV positive. In order to improve visual assessment and identification of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 and worse (CIN2+), providers may use visual aids such as digital cameras. To determine whether combined examination by naked-eye and digital VIA (D-VIA) and VILI (D-VILI) improves detection of CIN2+ as compared to the conventional evaluation. Women (30-49 years) living in Dschang (West Cameroon) were prospectively invited to a cervical cancer screening campaign. Primary HPV-based screening was followed by VIA/VILI and D-VIA/VILI if HPV-positive. Health care providers independently defined diagnosis (pathological or non-pathological) based on naked-eye VIA/VILI and D-VIA/VILI. Decision to treat was based on combined examination (VIA/VILI and D-VIA/VILI). Cervical biopsy and endocervical curettage were performed in all HPV-positive participants and considered as reference standard. Diagnostic performance of individual and combined naked-eye VIA/VILI and D-VIA/VILI was evaluated. A sample size of 1,500 women was calculated assuming a prevalence of 20% HPV positivity and 10% CIN2+ in HPV-positive women. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the study had to terminate prematurely. A total of 1,081 women with a median age of 40 (IQR 35.5-45) were recruited. HPV positivity was 17.4% (n = 188) and 26 (14.4%) had CIN2+. Naked-eye VIA and D-VIA sensitivities were 80.8% (95% CI 60.6-93.4) and 92.0% (95% CI 74.0-99.0), and specificities were 31.2% (95% CI 24-39.1) and 31.6% (95% CI 24.4-39.6), respectively. The combination of both methods yielded a sensitivity of 92.3% (95% CI 74.9-99.1) and specificity of 23.2% (95% CI 16.8-30.7). A trend towards improved sensitivity was observed, but did not reach statistical significance. Addition of D-VIA/VILI to conventional naked-eye examination may be associated with improved CIN2+ identification. Further studies including a larger sample size are needed to confirm these results.