Abstract

This cross sectional study assessed the prevalence of intestinal protozoan and helminth infections in N’Djamena, Chad Republic, and determined the main epidemiological transmission factors of these pathogens in order to develop efficient control strategies of intestinal parasites. Four hundred and sixty two randomly selected persons, from eight quarters (administrative districts), of age less than one year to seventy six years old of both sexes, were examined in N’Djamena town. Out of the 462 samples, 235 (51%) were found to harbour at least one parasite species. The prevalences of the eight (8) parasite species detected were: Entamoeba histolytica (30%), Hymenolepis nana (13%), Ascarislumbricoides (10%), Trichomonas hominis (6%), Giardia intestinalis (3%), hookworm (0.5%), and Schistosoma mansoni (0.2%). These pathogens appeared mostly in single infections. The quarters with higher infection indices were those that experienced floods (Abena and Chagoua) and where people do not use latrines (Naga and Goudji). The population customs and the environmental conditions in N’Djamena still favour high faecal- oral transmission of intestinal parasites.

Key words: Prevalence, intestinal parasites, protozoans, helminths, N’Djamena, Chad