The incidence of feco-oral parasites in street-food vendors in Buea, south-west region Cameroon.

BACKGROUND The street-food industry lacks legal recognition, it operates in unstable and precarious conditions, involving women and men with minimal or no knowledge of hygienic food handling practices. Infective eggs, bacteria, toxins and cysts of faecal orally transmissible parasites are common agents responsible for food contamination in developing countries. OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of digestive faecal-oral parasites among street-food vendors in Buea, South-west region of Cameroon, METHODS From March to May 2009, physical and laboratory analysis of stool samples of 150 randomly selected street-food vendors, residing in four different zones in the municipality were carried out. Information on environmental and personal hygiene was also collected. RESULTS Results revealed that 56.7% of the sampled population was infected with faecal-oral parasites. The major faecal-oral parasites detected in stool samples were: Entamoeba coli (14.0%), Entamoeba histolytica (12.67%), Ascaris lumbricoides (11.33%), Ankylostoma duodenalis (10.67%). Childcare activities, lack of deworming, poor personal hygiene, poor sanitary and toilet facilities, were factors promoting the spread of faecal-oral infections. CONCLUSION Food vendors should be educated on personal hygiene and safe food handling measures. Regulatory procedures on environmental hygiene and regular medical and paramedical follow up of food vendors should be enforced.