Characteristics of malaria transmission in the localities of Bélabo and Ouami in the Eastern Region of Cameroun

Introduction: Malaria remains a major public health problem in Cameroon. For several years, the Eastern Region of Cameroon has remained one of the most affected areas by this disease. However, very few studies have been conducted to assess factors influencing malaria transmission in the area. The present study assesses malaria transmission pattern in the region.
Methodology: The study was carried out in Bélabo and Ouami. Adult mosquitoes were collected using HLC and CDC light traps. After morphological identification of the collected mosquitoes, the heads and thorax of the Anopheles mosquitoes were used to determine infectivity by ELISA. Species of the Anopheles gambiae complex were identified by PCR. A questionnaire on malaria was administered to households in each locality.
Results: Out of the 1289 mosquitoes collected (1094 in Bélabo and 195 in Ouami), mosquitoes of the Culex genus were the most abundant followed by Anopheles gambiae s.l (98.5% of total Anopheline) in both localities. Only Anopheles coluzzii were identified after PCR. The biting rate per man per night was 17.77 in Bélabo and 0.72 in Ouami. Out of 320 anopheline analyze, 18 (5.63%) were detected infected by Plasmodium falciparum in Bélabo. No infected mosquitoes were detected in Ouami. The household surveys indicated that the population had a good knowledge of malaria and was using regularly LLINs.
Conclusion: This study reveals a good knowledge of the populations on malaria in these localities.
Impact of the study: This study reveals the knowledge of the populations with regard to malaria.
Key words: Malaria, Anopheles, Bélabo, Ouami, LLINs.