Résumé
BackgroundTuberculosis (TB), HIV and Helminths are serious overlapping public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa. This triple burden may lead to accelerated disease progression. Although HIV is integrated in TB programs in Cameroon, data on TB-helminth co-infection still remains limited. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of helminths and their associated factors among pulmonary tuberculosis patients at Jamot hospital in Yaoundé, Cameroon.MethodsThis was a cross sectional study conducted at the Jamot hospital in Yaoundé, Cameroon from April 2022 to March 2023 with participants aged 18 years and above. A well designed questionnaire was used to capture sociodemographic data, clinical history and risk factors for TB, HIV and helminth infections. Sputum, stool and blood samples were collected from each consenting participant. Sputum was examined using auramine microscopy. Stool was examined using the kato-katz and Mini-FLOTAC techniques. Blood was used for HIV serology according to guidelines. TB-uninfected healthy controls were also recruited and their blood and stool samples similarly analysed.ResultsA total of 321 sputum smear-positive TB patients (72% males and 28% females) and 65 healthy controls (54% males and 46% females) were included in this study. The prevalence of TB-HIV co-infection was 13.4% (43/321). The prevalence of any helminth infection among TB patients was 13.5% (37/274) and 7.7% (5/65) among controls. The most prevalent helminth species in this study was Ascaris lumbricoides (62%, 23/37), followed by Trichuris trichuria (19%, 7/37), Strongyloides stercoralis (5.4%, 2/37), and hookworm (2,7%, 1/37). TB-HIV-Helminth triple co-infection was found in 3 cases.ConclusionThe prevalence of TB-HIV and TB-Helminth co-infection is similar. This emphasizes the fact that diagnosis and treatment of helminth infections should be integrated in TB control programs in Cameroon for a better management of the disease.