Prevalence and intensity of infection with intestinal parasites in areas of the Futa Djalon, Republic of Guinea.

A descriptive study on the prevalence and intensity of infection with intestinal parasites was performed in three selected areas of the Futa Djalon highlands during the rainy season of 1989. Randomly selected households were visited in Daka (an important urban sector of Labé), in the town of Timbi Madina and in a rural village, Sombili. Prevalence of intestinal protozoa was 58.5% in Daka, 63.3% in Timbi Madina and 76.5% in Sombili, while infection rates for helminths were 10.4%, 24.7% and 47.7% respectively. The data point to a higher level of oro-fecal transmission in the rural village compared to the urban environments. Most of the protozoan parasites detected were non-pathogenic, while hookworms were the most prevalent heliminths and in about one third of the cases multiple infections were found. Analysis of questionnaire data failed to show significant associations between selected socio-behavioural factors and parasitic infections.