TY  - EJOU
AU  - Diouf, D. Coumba
AU  - Ouaddane, O. Ihssane
AU  - Goumballa, G. Ndiaw
AU  - Sambou, S. Masse
AU  - Bassène, B. Hubert
AU  - Aidara, A. Adama
AU  - Gautret, G. Philippe
AU  - Sokhna, S. Cheikh
TI  - Lack of soil-transmitted helminths in pilgrims at the Grand Magal de Touba, in Senegal
T2  - African Journal of Parasitology, Mycology and Entomology

PY  - 2024
VL  - 2
IS  - 1
SN  - 1987-1473

AB  - Introduction: The Grand Magal de Touba (GMT) is the largest Muslim mass gathering in Senegal with a potential for infectious disease transmission. The objective of this study was to investigate pilgrims participating in this event for the presence of intestinal parasites, including soil-transmitted helminths (STHs). Method: The carriage of gastrointestinal STHs was assessed on rectal swabs (n = 513) taken with their consent, from cohorts of GMT pilgrims from two villages located in southern Senegal (2017–2022), and from patients consulting at the Mbacké health center in 2018 to 2021. RT-qPCR identification was performed to detect the presence of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Necator americanus, Ancylostoma duodenale and Stongyloides stercoralis. Result: Among cohort participants, only one pilgrim was positive for Entomoeba histolytica in a pre-Magal sample, and an acquisition rate of 2.8% for Giardia lamblia was noted. Among Mbacké patients suffering from diarrhea, 9.2% were positive for G. lamblia, 5.1% for Cryptosporidum sp. and 2.0% for E. histolytica. No samples tested positive for any helminths, either in the cohorts or in patients at the Mbacké health center. Conclusion: Our results confirm that STHs appear to have been eliminated in Diourbel. Empirical treatment of patients suffering from diarrhea at the GMT should not be based on drugs that are only active on helminths in the absence of obvious signs of helminthic infestation. However, infections with protozoa and notably with G. lamblia are still prevalent, both in asymptomatic pilgrims and in those suffering from diarrhea.
KW  - eradication
KW  - helminths
KW  - protozoa
KW  - Grand Magal
KW  - Touba
KW  - Senegal
DO  - 10.35995/ajpme02010012