Introduction since December 2019, the world is experiencing, the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the Virus SARS-CoV-2. It is feared that the pandemic maybe more devastating in conflict affected areas in the world. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and practices with regard to the COVID-19 in Buea municipality, Cameroon. Methods this was a cross-sectional study carried out in communities selected from 5 health areas of the Buea Health District. A questionnaire was administered to collect data on the knowledge, attitudes and practices on COVID-19. The knowledge was measured using a 26-points Liker scale on awareness, mode of transmission, clinical manifestation, site of the infection and prevention. The data was analyzed in SPSS version 25. Results of the 545 particpants who consented, 21.9% had a correct knowledge of COVID-19, 43.8% had intermediate knowledge, 34.4% had poor knowledge and 11.93% had no knowledge. Majority of the participants (73.3%) knew they were at risk of contacting the infection. They were aware that cleaning and disinfecting the environment (78.8%), reducing contact with animals (56.3%) could help prevent the infection. Even though participants knew about the face mask (93.5%) and hand sanitizers (88.8%), only 21.7% and 32.9% had purchased them respectively. Few participants reported that they will go to a man of God (6.0%), native doctor (3.5%) and auto-medication (25.8%) if infected. Conclusion There is still a knowledge gap in the Buea population with respect to COVID-19. The population is aware of the disease and preventive measures, but few have taken steps to procure essential tools for the prevention. There is need to intensify sensitization to fill the knowledge gap the population has with regards to COVID-19.

Background: Intestinal parasites induce an immunological alteration that favors progression from HIV to AIDS. These enteric parasitic agents vary from patient to patient and from country to country depending on endemicity, seasonal variation of pathogens, and also the immune status of the patient. Therefore, studies are required to evaluate the spectrum of these parasites in specific locations to better plan their control. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with intestinal parasitosis in HIV/AIDS patients on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out from the month of March to July 2018 on HIV patients on HAART in the Ndop Health District, Cameroon. Three centers were selected for this study using a two-stage stratified sampling technique. Stool and blood were collected from 347 participants. Stool was examined for intestinal parasites using direct microscopy, fomol-ether concentration technique, and modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique. Blood collected was analyzed using a Pima Alere CD4+ T cell counter. A structured questionnaire was administered to collect socio-demographic and clinical data. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 20 and p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Three hundred and forty-seven (347) consented individuals were recruited into the study. The ages of study participants ranged between 22-78 years. The mean (±SD) age of the study participants was 42 (±10) years. Among the 347 participants, 67 (19.3% (CI = 15.3%-23.9%)) were infected with at least one intestinal parasite. Forty-two (12.1% (CI =8.9%-15.9%)) of study participants were infected with protozoan while 28 (8.1% (CI= 5.2%-11.0%)) were infected with helminths. Intestinal parasites identified included; Ascaris lumbricoides, Hookworm, Taenia spp, Schistosoma mansoni, Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, Cryptosproridum spp, Blastocystis hominis, Cyclospra spp, Isospora belli, Gardia intestinalis, and Entamoeba coli. Low CD4+ T lymphocyte cell counts were significantly associated (P< 0.01) with intestinal parasitic infection in HIV/AIDS patients on HAART. Conclusion: Intestinal parasites are a problem to HIV/AID patient on HAART. Screening for intestinal parasites in HIV/AIDS patients on HAART must be highlighted and awareness created among HIV/AIDS patients.

Objectives:The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HIV infection among pregnant adolescents and adolescent mothers and to assess risk factors associated with HIV infection. Methods:This was an analytical cross sectional study among pregnant adolescents and adolescent mothers, carried out from April to May 2018 in the Kumbo West Health District (KWHD) of Cameroon. We used a multistage sampling design to select 6 health areas. In each of these 6 health areas selected, proportionate sampling method was employed to get 400 participants from the health areas. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and analysed using SPSS version 21. We adjusted for confounding variables (age category, sexual debut, multiple sex partners, irregular/no use of condoms) by carrying out multivariate binary logistic regression. Results:We used 400 adolescents (68 pregnant and 332 mothers), with mean age 14.5 years (SD = 0.21). The overall prevalence of HIV infection was 4.58% (95% CI: 2.7-6.7) even though, the prevalence of HIV in pregnant adolescents was (4.9%) compared to that in adolescent mothers (3.2%) though not statistically significant (p = 0.74). The significant HIV associated risk factors discovered among the two categories were; HIV infection occurring mostly in late adolescence: 15-19 years (AOR 2.05; 95% CI 1.11-4.24), sexual debut before the age of 14 (AOR 2.40; 95% CI 1.14-5.04), having had 2 or more sexual partners in the last 12 months (AOR 1.51; 95% CI 1.04-3.15), and irregular or no use of condom (AOR 1.20; 95% CI 1.04-1.53). Conclusion:There is a need to address adolescent pregnancy not only as a health outcome but as a risk factor for HIV infection. Preventing adolescent pregnancies is important in a comprehensive HIV prevention in Cameroon.

Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD) is a complication of diabetes that often leads to the End Stage Renal Disease. It is characterised by the presence of persistent albuminuria and a reduction of the Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) in diabetic condition. No study has revealed the prevalence of DKD in Cameroon. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Buea and Ngaoundere to determine the prevalence of DKD and characterize its biochemical profile in diabetic population under medical care. A total of 250 diabetics were enrolled with a mean age of 56.78±12.06 years, out of which 59.6% were diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), 32.8% presented micro-albuminuria and 3.6% were diagnosed with macroalbuminuria. The prevalence of DKD was 15.2% out of which 78.9% were females (p=0.002). The prevalence of the co-morbidity hypertension and DKD was 8.8%. Significant association was found between DKD and two variables: female gender (OR: 2.28 (1.21-4.29); p=0.002) and hyper-creatinemia (OR: 3.47 (2.13-5.66); p < 0.001). The high prevalence of micro-albuminuria found in this study may reflect a high frequency of micro-albuminuria in diabetic population in Cameroon. This study is the first, to assess DKD in Cameroon according to the ADA consensus on CKD and diabetes. The findings showed that, diabetic complication is a serious problem in Cameroon and, more actions should be taken to improve its management.

BackgroundThe outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic led to the implementation of preventive measures to curb the spread of the virus. The fear of contracting the virus and some infection prevention and control measures have been associated with poor mental and brain health outcomes .We therefore assessed the health care- seeking behaviours and the impact of COVID-19 preventive measures on depression and anxiety among survivors of COVID-19 at the Buea Regional Hospital. Materials and MethodsThe study design was an unmatched case control study. Cases were identified from health facility records and the controls were patients who are inhabitants of same community. Data was collected using an online google questionnaire and a physical questionnaire which was self-administered .We used the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale to assess anxiety and depression. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 and a P-value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.ResultsWe recruited 245 participants with the mean age for our participants being 32.89±13.17years. With regards to Health care -seeking behaviours 78.9 vs 75.1% (OR 1.24, CI: 0.65-2.38) sought care from the hospital among the cases and controls respectively. Survivors of COVID-19 were about 12 times more likely to seek for conventional medication as a treatment for their disease (OR 11.96, 95% CI: 6.25-22.90, p=0.000) compared to the controls. Survivors of COVID-19 presented with higher mean scores for depression and anxiety compared to the controls respectively (7.74±3.93 vs. 4.01±4.48, p=0.000), (6.84±3.87 vs. 3.10±3.75, p=0.000). Participants who wore face mask were 3 times more likely to be anxious and depressed than those who did not. Factors associated with adverse mental health outcomes were losing a love one due to COVID-19, quarantine and social isolation among the casesConclusions Health care seeking behaviour was more appropriate in the cases than the controls. COVID-19 preventive measures were associated with a negative psychosocial impact among COVID-19 survivors; thus public health officials should implement measures targeting psychosocial support of the population