Metrics details A Correction to this article was published on 04 October 2021 This article has been updated Malaria remains a serious public health problem in Cameroon Implementation of control interventions requires prior knowledge of the local epidemiological situation Here we report the results of epidemiological and entomological surveys carried out in Tibati an area where malaria transmission is seasonal 6 years after the introduction of long-lasting insecticidal bed nets Cross-sectional studies were carried out in July 2015 and 2017 in Tibati Thick blood smears and dried blood spots were collected from asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals in the community and at health centers and used for the molecular diagnosis of Plasmodium species Adult mosquitoes were collected by indoor residual spraying and identified morphologically and molecularly and positivity of PCR-positive samples was confirmed by Sanger sequencing Overall malaria prevalence in our study population was 55.0% (752/1367) and Plasmodium falciparum was the most prevalent parasite species (94.3%) ovale (0.8%); 92 (12.7%) infections were mixed infections Infection parameters varied according to clinical status (symptomatic/asymptomatic) and age of the sampled population and the collection sites Infection prevalence was higher in asymptomatic carriers (60.8%) but asexual and sexual parasite densities were lower Prevalence and intensity of infection decreased with age in both the symptomatic and asymptomatic groups Heterogeneity in infections was observed at the neighborhood level Among the 592 Anopheles mosquitoes collected A total of 26 (4.39%) mosquito specimens were infected by Plasmodium sp and the three Anopheles mosquitoes transmitted Plasmodium at equal efficiency coluzzii specimen infected by Plasmodium vivax which confirms circulation of this species in Cameroon The positivity of all 26 PCR-positive Plasmodium-infected mosquitoes was successively confirmed by sequencing analysis Our study presents the baseline malaria parasite burden in Tibati Our results highlight the high malaria endemicity in the area and hotspots of disease transmission are identified Parasitological indices suggest low bednet usage and that implementation of control interventions in the area is needed to reduce malaria burden We also report for the first time a mosquito vector with naturally acquired P vivax with human infections in both Duffy-positive and -negative individuals has been reported no study has yet looked at which local malaria vector species is involved in the transmission of P we aimed to characterize malaria parasites and vectors circulating in an area of seasonal transmission in the Adamawa region vivax detection as this species was recently reported in other parts of the country and we conducted entomological surveys to identify its putative vector which has not been investigated in earlier studies Our main goal was to examine the potential risk of transmission of P vivax and to determine which local malaria vector species could be implicated in its transmission in this region of Cameroon Map of Tibati showing collection sites Blood samples were collected from symptomatic malaria patients in three health facilities: the Missionary hospital of Ngaoubela (MDH) District Medical Center (DMC) and the Integrated Medical Center (IMC) Blood samples were collected from asymptomatic persons in the community in eight neighborhoods of Tibati: Malarba which were the same neighborhoods that mosquito collections were performed stored at room temperature in a desiccant container and brought to the Malaria Research Unit for further analysis Plasmodium-positive patients were treated with an ACT according to the recommendations of the Ministry of Health of Cameroon (National Malaria Control Program [NMCP]) All female Anopheles specimens were dissected individually and the carcasses and head-thoraces were stored separately in tubes containing a desiccant archived and kept at − 20 °C for further molecular analysis three 5-mm discs of a dried blood spot were cut out using a sterile paper punch and transferred to a 1.5-ml sample tube filled with 500 µl of sterile water The tubes were vortexed three times for at least 5 s each time and centrifuged at 2000 rpm for few seconds the paper discs were transferred into a 0.5-ml tube containing 120 µl sterile water and incubated at 95 °C in a heat block for 15 min (Gene Amp®; Applied Biosystems the tubes were centrifuged for few seconds and the extracted DNA was stored at − 20 °C for molecular diagnosis To optimize the DNA extraction and allow for a better separation of DNA from some nucleases we used the Qiagen DNeasy® Blood and Tissue Kit (Hilden Germany) to isolate DNA from the blood samples collected in 2017 in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and resuspended the isolated DNA in 60 µl elution buffer DNA from the head-thoraces was isolated using the Qiagen DNeasy® Blood and Tissue Kit according to the manufacturer’s instructions The amplified products were visualized by electrophoresis in a 2% agarose gel and stained with SYBR dye (Green Nucleic Acid stain; Biotium The expected amplicon size was 276 bp for P All PCR products were analyzed in a 2% agarose gel Reaction mixtures were performed with 1 μl of template DNA in a final volume of 10 μl with EvaGreen® (5× HOT Pol EvaGreen® RT PCR Mix Plus; Euromodex France) and amplified in a 7300 Real-time PCR system (Applied Biosystems) A dissociation curve was used to estimate the specific melting temperature for each reaction The final volume of the reaction mixture was 10 μl The PCR conditions consisted of an initial preincubation step at 95 °C for 10 min; followed a three-step amplification of 95 °C/10 s (ramp 4.4 °C/s) 50 °C/5 s (2.2 °C/s) and 72 °C/20 s (4.4 °C/s) Amplification was directly followed by a melting program of 95 °C/120 s (2.2 °C/s) 68 °C/120 s (2.2 °C/s) and 90 °C/1 s (ramp 0.2 °C/s with 15 readings/°C) and a stepwise temperature increase of 0.03 °C/s until 95 °C falciparum 3D7 clone was used as positive control for Plasmodium species differentiation The qPCR products of Plasmodium-positive mosquitoes were sequenced using the Big Dye Terminator v3.1 Sequencing Kit (Applied Biosystems) and run on an Applied Biosystems 3130xl Sequencer at the GenSeq technical facility of the Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier Sequences were verified using SeqScape software (Applied Biosystems) Data were stored in Microsoft Office Excel files (Microsoft Corp. USA) and transferred into GraphPad Prism 7 (GraphPad Software Inc. The Mann–Whitney test was used to compare mean parasite densities according to clinical status The Chi-square test was used to compare the prevalence of Plasmodium infections among population age groups and mosquito species The non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test was used to assess differences in parasite densities between age groups The significance threshold was set at alpha = 0.05 The relative risk (RR) was computed to estimate the protection associated with LLIN use R software version 3.5.3 with maptools and ggplot2 packages was used to generate the map and figures respectively (R Foundation for Statistical Computing while melting temperatures of qPCR-positive controls were retrieved by using functional bases (without package) A total of 1367 participants were enrolled in this study, 418 through the health centers (symptomatics) and 949 at the community level (asymptomatics). The main characteristics of the participants are detailed in Table 1 Boxplot of parasite densities for each age group in symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals malaria diagnostic tools revealed 752 (55.01%) infections with Plasmodium The infection rate was 41.8% (175/418) in samples from symptomatic patients and 60.8% (577/949) in samples from asymptomatic individuals which is significantly different (X2 = 41.21; P < 0.0001) Plasmodium falciparum was the most prevalent Plasmodium species collected during both collection periods and represented 98.8 and 92.9% of human infections in 2015 and 2017 ovale each accounted for 0.6% of clinical infections in samples from asymptomatic persons a higher prevalence was recorded for P Mixed infections were only found in asymptomatic carriers and were mostly represented by P vivax infection was detected in any blood sample LLIN use based on self-report only conferred slight protection: malaria infection among LLIN users was only 7% less than that among non-users (non-significant difference; RR = 0.89 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.58–0.98); however the difference varied with collection site with up to 20% protection found in Malarba Distribution of Anopheles mosquitoes according to collection time Melting curve peak of the YK60 and NG239 samples identified as being infected by a Plasmodium sp The x-axis represents the melting temperature (Tm) and the y-axis represents the results of quantitative PCR on the Lightcycler real-time PCR system (dF/dT negative derivative of the fluorescence/derivative temperature) Each red and blue curve represents the Tm of each Plasmodium falciparum-positive control The green curve represents the Tm of the sample All Plasmodium-positive specimens were monoinfected A single sample was found by qPCR to be positive for An All Plasmodium-positive mosquitoes were processed for sequencing, and the sequence alignment of the P. vivax infection is presented in Fig. 5. vivax sample isolated from an infected Anopheles coluzzii sampled in 2015 with the reference DNA sequence Pv_ECPR (accession number AY423071.1) P4G2_F and P4G2_R represent the forward and reverse sequences Numbering corresponds to that of the Pv_ECPR sequence This study was performed to assess epidemiological and entomological parameters of malaria in Tibati a locality situated in the Adamawa region of Cameroon 9% of the negative blood smears by microscopic examination were found to be positive upon molecular analysis in our study and modifications to the habitat in Tibati (e.g home improvement) that occurred during the 2 years between the studies have probably contributed to the creation of breeding sites more suitable for An which is a widely used method for sampling endophilic mosquitoes could have favored the collection of endophilic resting Anopheles over other mosquito species The percentage of infected mosquitoes sampled in 2017 varied between neighborhoods with the highest infection rate recorded in Yoko (5.2%) which could be explained by a high malaria prevalence and the lower LLIN coverage (21.1%) in this neighborhood Plasmodium vivax can then be considered to circulate in the study area and may also be underestimated vivax infections in humans are “hidden” since hypnozoites lie dormant in the liver for several months (or years) where they are undetected A limitation to this study is that mosquito samples were obtained at a single collection time and the results only provide a one-shot picture of malaria transmission in the study site Longitudinal surveys would be necessary to follow the dynamics of malaria transmission and will be crucial to perform parasitological and entomological surveys before and after the implementation of control interventions A second limitation is that sample sizes were small which is possibly the reason we did not detect P Regular monitoring of malaria infections will be necessary to assess the true circulation of P vivax in the area; 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Kenya Download references We are grateful to all the residents of Tibati who agreed to participate in this study and gave permission to enter their houses for mosquito collection Our appreciation is also extended to Estelle Esssangui and Balotin Fongang for their support and cooperation during data analysis Our sincere thanks go to Rhoel Dinglasan for his contribution in reviewing the article This work was carried out as part of an AUF-IRD research project granted to SEN This research was supported by the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) through the JEAI-IMPALA project granted to SEN LBFD and EMSM were supported by a doctoral fellowship from the LabEx ParaFrap Lionel Brice Feufack-Donfack and Elangwe Milo Sarah-Matio contributed equally to this work Service de Paludisme du Centre Pasteur Cameroun Isabelle Morlais & Sandrine Eveline Nsango Institut de Recherche pour le Développement Christelle Maffo Ngou & Isabelle Morlais Organisation de Coordination pour la lutte contre les Endémies en Afrique Centrale Jean-Claude Toto & Parfait Awono-Ambene Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases School of Veterinary Medicine and Sciences Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences Pharmaceutiques de l’Université de Douala (FMSP–UD) Carole Else Eboumbou Moukoko & Sandrine Eveline Nsango SEN and IM conceived and designed the study protocol MMS and SEN carried out the field and laboratory assays LA and PAA critically reviewed the manuscript All authors read and approved the final manuscript Our study was approved by the Cameroon National Ethics Committee (N°2015/04/579/CE/NERSH) and by the Delegate of Public Health from Adamaoua region (N°029/L/RA/DSP/SAGE/BPF/NGD/15;735/L/RA/DSP/SAGE/BPF/NGD/17) and the Health Director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (N°004/EELC/OSEELC/SRH/15) All human volunteers were enrolled after providing written informed consent either by the participants and/or by their legal guardians Written informed consent were also provided by household owners prior to mosquito collection Free malaria treatments with ACT were given to all Plasmodium-infected patients as recommended by the Ministry of Health (NMCP) The authors declare that they have no competing interests Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-04745-y Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Joseph Adamou and his family are living in fear Living in the Tibati district located nearly 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) north of Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé they are afraid of being removed from their farms that became part of the state land reserve six years ago one of the six Indigenous ethnic groups living in the district of 72,000 people was informed that the Cameroonian company Tawfiq Agro Industry would be setting up an agro-industrial facility and his family could lose access to the ten hectares (24 acres) of arable land they have been farming and using for trade for more than 20 years Last May, the Cameroonian government decided to allocate 95,000 hectares (over 234,000 acres) of land – three times the size of Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé – to the company Tawfiq Agro Industry, to develop an agro-industrial facility aimed at reducing expensive Western food imports. The price of imported food has increased this past year it aims to contribute to the development of local industry This Djerem village is home to a community of nomadic people who depend mainly on cattle breeding for their livelihood Tensions are high among the Ardo Fougue family whose leader is fearful of the project’s impact This tall slim man of 70 and his family live on one of the land reserve’s mountains what are we going to do with our animals (cows “The land here is suited for animal breeding Will our animals be able to live off the other land he and his family are now under threat of being evicted and do not know where their next home will be The Mbororo nomadic shepherds do not mix with other ethnic groups in Cameroon due to underlying agro-pastoral conflicts They represent just 10% of the Cameroonian population so to amplify their voices they established the Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association (MBOSCUDA) in the 90s to represent their interests are opposed to this agro-industrial project Read more: Industrial diets are imprinting on human bodies, new study finds communities making up the Collective for the Defense Development and Safeguarding of the Interests of the Department of Djerem (CODDESID) sent a petition to Cameroonian President Paul Biya to protest against the decision made last May by the Ministry of Estates Tawfiq Agro Industry was given a long lease agreement for the 95,000 hectares of land The way this deal was approached was not right Deals were made with our district’s elites in Yaoundé our elites want to convince us to drop it just because it is state-owned land Ninety-five thousand is too much to lose!” The local representative criticizes the company’s unilateral approach in acquiring these lands The company began by going straight to the top and consulting with the area’s elite at the Association of Djerem Nationals (ARD) The Association is doing the opposite of what is in the community’s interest by approving the construction of the agro-industrial facility The elite see it as an opportunity and real catalyst for the transformation of the local economy According to a statement from their general secretary Mohaman Mourtalla “when Tawfiq presented this project in an economic context we said to ourselves that instead of leaving this space unused we must support the company if it meets its obligations of creating jobs and increasing the availability of food for our people.” Tawfiq plans to invest $153 million (100 billion CFA francs) over a period of 10 years which should generate 7,500 direct and 15,000 indirect jobs Tawfiq’s long-term objective is to contribute to the development of local industry and to align with the import-substitution policy implemented by the Cameroonian government in 2021 which aims to considerably reduce food imports Read more: Did Wall Street play a role in this year’s wheat price crisis? The Tibati local economy is based on agriculture Lake Mbakaou was renowned for its large local fish production in 2021 The town has important natural resources which may be targeted for illegal exploitation after the agro-industrial project’s arrival That’s why the state set up the animal husbandry park (which has been spared by the project),” he says you can’t help but be suspicious when you are told that someone wants to lease this land The Tawfiq company has also not yet established an environmental and social management plan for the project which guarantee that local communities will be protected It is still in the environmental and social impact study phase which is being carried out by Cameroonian company Glonar LLC It has already undertaken work in the field 76/167 laying out the terms and conditions for managing the private domain of the State This “is granted for a period of between 18 and 99 years subject to a resolutive condition of development within a specified period” Tawfiq is therefore bound by a certain number of obligations before signing the contract Land Registry and Land Affairs: “When spaces are given to third parties We grant long leases of limited durations that carry restrictions If the beneficiaries do not comply with the terms of the regulations Djerem spokesperson and State representative Ludovic Etienne Ngbwa affirms that measures will be taken to avoid conflict between the company and local communities Ngbwa told Mongabay that the government plans to reduce the amount of land granted to Tawfiq following the community backlash this is only according to Ngbwa’s and is not yet written down or legally binding The communities themselves have not yet received this news and officially their lands are still included in the land granted to the Tawfiq company “We will build the agro-industrial facility more than 10 or 15 kilometers [6 to 10 miles] from the villages and there is no interference between the company and the community Taking into account the local community’s complaints the project area is being scaled down to approximately 45,000 hectares (over 111,000 acres),” he said This approach tacitly implies a reduction in the land area previously considered and would spare the communities from having to relocate from the arable land The issue of compensation would then be swept under the table the location of the company (created in 2016) is unknown Even the people in Mbanti-Mbang do not know where the company is despite the village witnessing the construction of a road in the middle of the savannah leading to the facility’s construction site Tawfiq Agro Industry headquarters have been in Yaoundé since 2019 (previously in Douala) after its transformation into a Limited Liability Company (SARL) and modification of its corporate purpose This reform by notarial deed thus redefines the company activities as import-export Tawfiq is considered in Tibati as a “no name” among the local agro-industries having not yet proven itself in this sector This is a claim contested by its young manager when we went to Yoko [the largest municipality in Cameroon] to plant 50 hectares [123 acres] of cocoa trees we were told that it was impossible because no company had ever done it before We also have a private ranch of 1,000 hectares [2.471 acres] in Ngaoundéré where we grow cereals and raise livestock.” The company shares are majority controlled by the Cameroonian businessman Aboubakar Al Fatih who runs the timber company Bois du Cameroun (BOISCAM) which in 2020 acquired more than 60,000 hectares [148,263 acres] of land in southern Cameroon to develop an industrial oil palm plantation Their activities have since been criticized by the American non-profit organization Greenpeace who say they are contributing to deforestation Al Fatih is from Mayo-Banyo in Adamaoua and is a politically influential figure in the Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (RDPC) who have been in power in Cameroon for the last forty years This article was first published here on Mongabay’s French site Banner image: A Gbaya farmer in Mbanti-Mbang on land left unscathed by the agro-industrial project / Image © Yannick Kenné Related listening from Mongabay podcast: We speak with food expert Anna Lappé on the growing adoption of agroecology around the world and behavioral scientist Philipe Bujold on encouraging small-scale farmers to adopt sustainable farming practices Did Wall Street play a role in this year’s wheat price crisis? FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message to the author of this post The “fortress conservation” model is under pressure in East Africa as protected areas become battlegrounds over history and global efforts to halt biodiversity loss Mongabay’s Special Issue goes beyond the region’s world-renowned safaris to examine how rural communities and governments are reckoning with conservation’s colonial origins and trying to forge a path forward […] The government of Cameroon has announced plans to develop a 400,000 ha land reserve along the Ntui-Yoko-Tibati to ease access to land for intensive agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Minader) confirmed the plans and said the project will help attract private economic operators and develop youth entrepreneurship in agriculture According to the NGO Center for Environment and Development (CED Cameroon’s land law excludes young people from access to land which means that people under the age of 48 cannot access land titles through direct registration although this document is required as collateral for a bank loan CED said this would exclude at least 87% of the Cameroonian population from carrying out big investments the head of State instructed a land reform to facilitate investors’ access to land to develop “second generation” agriculture CED suggests that the law recognize the ownership of each village’s traditional land civil society is asking the state to recognize the customary and individual rights of communities by giving them ownership over land; legislate on food security for populations impacted by investment projects It also suggests a law that defends the land rights of all citizens (Business in Cameroon) - The Minister of Public Works (Mintp) Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi is scheduled to take partial delivery of the 167.22 km long Lena-Tibati-Ngatt road section today March 10 The road section concerned is part of the National Road No 15 (Batchenga-Ngaoundéré) that connects the Central region to  Ngaoundéré Its provisional acceptance comes after the Batchenga-Ntui section (21.3 km) which cost XAF34.52 billion and was delivered in December 2020 It also comes after the delivery of the Yoko-Léna section (45.241 km) 233.7 kilometers of road sections have been delivered on the Batchenga-Ngaoundéré corridor.  Several sections (78.8 kilometers overall) are still under construction They include Lot 2 A Ntui-Ndjolé (60 km) [with 73 km of communal roads] and Lot 2 B Ndjolé-Mankim (36.7 km) whose work was entrusted to China Railway 20 Bureau Group Corporation (CR20) in late 2021.  The company is already on site to resume the construction works that were withdrawn from Portuguese firm Elevolution Engenharia SA (Elevo) The contract is valued at XAF60 billion [for works to be delivered in 24 months] but the  Chinese firm has received close to XAF11.8 billion of cash advance The Mankim-Yoko section (82.10 km) is currently being built by Elevo for an amount of XAF46.14 billion with the consortium Cira S.A./Bec la Routière as the technical supervisor.   to complete the Batchenga-Ngaoundéré corridor the Ngatt-Ngaoundéré section (185 km) needs to be paved the government is discussing the mobilization of joint State of Cameroon-Islamic Development Bank-European Union funding The Ministry of Public Works explains that the Batchenga-Ntui-Yoko-Tibati-Ngaoundéré road is an important north-south trade route linking the capital Yaoundé to the Centre Through a network of runways connected to the highway it will also provide access to several towns and villages.  Kribi Bitumen Plant Set to Start Construction in 2025 with Government Backing CEMAC Bond Market Hits CFA 8.45 Trillion in March 2025, Interest Rates Drop Cameroon’s Timber Output Projected to Rise in 2025 Despite Higher Export Taxes Central Africa Stock Exchange Sees 98% Drop in Trading Value in Q1 2025 Every week the economy and investment news from Cameroon Mboa Paris Trains 30 Young Cameroonians to Boost Tech and Entrepreneurship Cameroon Audit Targets Former Officials for Mismanagement in Agricultural Project Camwater Seeks Global Bids to Launch Bottled Water Lines in Five Cities Bafoussam Workshop Highlights Benefits of Cameroon-EU Trade Agreement Cameroon Could Reach 350,100 Tons of Cotton in 2025 (Beac) Paul Biya Appoints Johnny Razack as Chair of Cameroon’s National Investment Company Cameroon Refuses Work Visa Renewal for Casino and Super U Boss Over Toxic Workplace Claims Cameroon Joins Global Charter to Fight Illegal Fishing Metrics details Malaria remains a major public health concern in Cameroon Understanding vector distribution and malaria transmission dynamics is of paramount importance for evaluating the performance of control strategies This study assesses patterns of malaria transmission in four eco-epidemiological settings in Cameroon Adult mosquitoes were collected using Human Landing Catches (HLC) once every 4 months from August 2019 to November 2021 in Kaélé Mosquitoes were sorted by genus and Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) species complex were identified using PCR The presence of Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (CSP) was measured by ELISA; the entomological inoculation rates (EIR) was estimated in each locality A total of 23,536 mosquitoes were collected Anopheles gambiae and/or Anopheles coluzzii were the main malaria vectors in all sites Anopheles arabiensis was recorded in low frequency in Kaélé and Tibati Other species collected included Anopheles funestus Anopheles pharoensis and Anopheles ziemmani High anopheline biting rates were recorded outdoor in all sites except in Kaélé Important differences in species biting dynamics were observed between sites The sporozoite infection rate varied from 0.36 to 4% The daily EIR was found to vary from 0.07 in Santchou to 0.26 infected bites/man/night (ib/m/n) in Kaélé) The study suggests heterogeneous patterns of malaria transmission in different ecoepidemiological settings across the country The findings stress the need to improve malaria vector control strategies There is paucity of data in some region including the deep Eastern forest region the Adamawa and the western highlands region This information could be crucial for improving malaria control strategies and filling important knowledge gaps which are impeding control efforts This study presents data on vector distribution and malaria transmission pattern in four eco-epidemiological settings in Cameroon: the Sahelian zone (Kaélé) the West highland area covered by grassfields (Santchou) Malaria situation in the area could possibly be affected by the frequent movements of the population between Cameroon and Chad The region belongs to the Sahelian domain characterize by a long dry season running from October to May with only 4 months of rains Tibati is a locality of over 36,000 inhabitants situated midway between the north and the south of the country close to the Mbakaou dam on the Sanaga river The region belongs to the Sahelo-Sudanese domain characterize by two seasons a dry season extending from November to February and a rainy season from March to October Although considered as highly endemic for malaria there is little data on malaria transmission pattern and vector distribution The river Nkam and its tributaries provide a dense hydrography in the locality Anopheles specimens were stored individually in labelled Eppendorf tubes containing a desiccant then transported to the Malaria Research Laboratory of the OCEAC for further analysis A sample was considered positive when its optical density (OD) value was two-fold higher than the mean optical density of negative control The human biting rate (HBR) was estimated as the number of mosquitoes collected per man per night The sporozoite infection rate (or circumsporozoroite rate) was calculated by dividing the number of female anopheline found infected by the total number of mosquitoes screened The daily entomological inoculation rate (EIR) was calculated by multiplying the human biting rate by the circum sporozoite rate Comparisons of proportion were made using the Chi-square test The level of significance of each test was set at P < 0.05 Distribution of mosquito genera in the different study sites Distribution of Anopheles species in the different study sites gambiae complex in the different study sites Distribution of anopheline species indoor and outdoor according to collection periods (In: indoor; Out: outdoor) Biting cycles of Anophelines species in different study sites Monthly variation of the entomological inoculation rates in different study sites In Kaélé, An. gambiae s.l. was responsible for malaria transmission, except in November 2019, marking the beginning of the dry season. Anopheles pharoensis was found infected during the months of May and August 2021. Annual transmission was estimated at 95 infected bites/man/year (Fig. 7a) The highest transmission occurs in August 2021 during the rainy season In Tibati, transmission was mainly due to An. gambiae s.l. except August 2021. Annual transmission was estimated at 76.65 ib/m/y (Fig. 7b) The highest transmission was recorded in July 2019 during the pick of the rainy season In Santchou, malaria transmission was ensured by An. gambiae s.l. and An. ziemmani during the periods of July 2020 and May 2021. Annual transmission was estimated at 25.55 ib/m/y. The month of May 2021 in the mid of the rainy season was associated with high EIR (11.66 ib/m/month) maintain by An. gambiae (Fig. 7d) In Bertoua, only An. gambiae s.l. was recorded as vector and transmission was registered in July 2020, May 2021 and August 2021. Annual transmission rate in the locality was estimated at 29.20 ib/m/y. The month of July 2020 during the short dry season was associated with the highest EIR (7.50 ib/m/y) (Fig. 7c) The moderate transmission pattern in the city of Bertoua may owe to the development of infrastructures such as drains and roads during past years anopheline were found to bite mostly indoor Due to the high nuisance in the area the population usually stay indoor during the night and this behaviour might have influenced mosquito biting behaviour It is possible that the high frequency of resistant mosquito in the area could also explain why mosquitoes in the area are not affected by the excito-repellency effects of insecticide treated bed nets This calls for further actions to improve malaria vector control in the country This study of the dynamics of malaria transmission in different eco-epidemiological settings shows a heterogeneous pattern of malaria transmission Malaria transmission was found to be high in all eco-epidemiological settings with different factors contributing to transmission The high presence of vectors biting outdoors calls for urgent actions in order to improve the fight against malaria in Cameroon Additional tools to control outdoor biting mosquitoes should be implemented (larviciding Integrated vector management could constitute an efficient way to fight against continuous malaria in the country and achieve elimination goals The datasets supporting the findings of this paper are included in this paper WHO. World malaria report 2021. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2021. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/350147 PNLP. Cameroun – Programme National de Lutte contre le Paludisme. https://pnlp.cm/ Malaria prevention in the city of Yaoundé: Knowledge and practices of urban dwellers and practices (KAP) of human populations towards malaria control in four ecoepidemiological settings in Cameroon WHO. Strategies for delivering insecticide-treated nets at scale for malaria control: a systematic review. Geneva, World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/90/9/11-094771/en/ Review of malaria situation in Cameroon: technical viewpoint on challenges and prospects for disease elimination A preliminary analysis on the effect of copper on Anopheles coluzzii insecticide resistance in vegetable farms in Benin Changes in malaria vector bionomics and transmission patterns in the equatorial forest region of Cameroon between 2000 and 2017 Spatial and temporal development of deltamethrin resistance in malaria vectors of the Anopheles gambiae complex from North Cameroon Malaria transmission around the Memve’ele hydroelectric dam in South Cameroon: a combined retrospective and prospective study Entomological and anthropological factors contributing to persistent malaria transmission in Kenya Complexity of the malaria vectorial system in Cameroon: contribution of secondary vectors to malaria transmission Description and bionomics of Anopheles (Cellia) ovengensis (Diptera: Culicidae) a new malaria vector species of the Anopheles nili group from South Cameroon Biting by Anopheles funestus in broad daylight after use of long-lasting insecticidal nets: a new challenge to malaria elimination Transmission patterns of Plasmodium falciparum by Anopheles gambiae in Benin High malaria transmission intensity in a village close to Yaounde Malaria vectors and urbanization in the equatorial forest region of south Cameroon Anopheles species of the mount Cameroon region: biting habits Bionomics of Anopheline species and malaria transmission dynamics along an altitudinal transect in Western Cameroon A marker of glutathione S-transferase-mediated resistance to insecticides is associated with higher Plasmodium infection in the African malaria vector Anopheles funestus Insights into factors sustaining persistence of high malaria transmission in forested areas of sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Mvoua Relationship Between kdr mutation and resistance to pyrethroid and DDT insecticides in natural populations of Anopheles gambiae First report of knockdown mutations in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae from Cameroon Habitat segregation and ecological character displacement in cryptic African malaria mosquitoes A supplement to the Anophelinae of Africa south of the Sahara (Afrotropical Region) Comparative testing of monoclonal antibodies against Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites for ELISA development Organization and mapping of a sequence on the Drosophila melanogaster X and Y chromosomes that is transcribed during spermatogenesis Insertion polymorphisms of SINE200 retrotransposons within speciation islands of Anopheles gambiae molecular forms Influence of a major mountainous landscape barrier (Mount Cameroon) on the spread of metabolic (GSTe2) and target-site (Rdl) resistance alleles in the African malaria vector Anopheles funestus Données clés sur le paludisme au Cameroun—PNLP Cameroun. 2021. https://pnlp.cm/donnees-cles-sur-le-paludisme-au-cameroun/ Species and populations of the Anopheles gambiae complex in Cameroon with special emphasis on chromosomal and molecular forms of Anopheles gambiae ss Water quality and Anopheles gambiae larval tolerance to pyrethroids in the cities of Douala and Yaoundé (Cameroon) Resistance to DDT in an urban setting: common mechanisms implicated in both M and S forms of Anopheles gambiae in the city of Yaoundé Cameroon The bionomics of the malaria vector Anopheles rufipes Gough 1910 and its susceptibility to deltamethrin insecticide in North Cameroon Malaria transmission and rice cultivation in Lagdo [Urban malaria in Yaounde (Cameroon) 2 entomologic study in 2 suburban districts] (in French) [Agricultural activities and epidemiology of malaria in Soudano-Sahelian zone in Cameroon] (in French) Epidemiological and entomological studies of malaria transmission in Tibati Adamawa region of Cameroon 6 years following the introduction of long-lasting insecticide nets Land-use patterns and their implication on malaria transmission in Kilosa District Exploring agricultural land-use and childhood malaria associations in sub-Saharan Africa Association between landscape factors and spatial patterns of Plasmodium knowlesi infections in Sabah Gillies MT, De Meillon B. The Anophelinae of Africa south of the Sahara (Ethiopian Zoogeographical Region). Johannesburg: South African Institute for Medical Research. 1968. https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19692900946 Vectorial transmission of malaria in major districts of Côte d’Ivoire Shifts in malaria vector species composition and transmission dynamics along the Kenyan coast over the past 20 years PSNLP-2019–2023-Consolide-transmis.pdf. https://lnsp-cam.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/PSNLP-2019-2023-CONSOLIDE-TRANSMIS.pdf Download references Ningahi Laura Gilberine and Joko Steve for their assistance during the field work We are also grateful to administrative and traditional authorities mosquito collectors and the population of Kaélé Santchou and Bertoua for their participation in the study This work received financial support from Bill & Melinda Gates and Panafrican Mosquito Association (ID: OPP1210340) to CAN The funding body did not have any role in the experimental design Vector Borne Diseases Laboratory of the Research Unit of Biology and Applied Ecology (VBID-RUBAE) Faculty of Science of the University of Dschang Organisation de Coordination Pour la Lutte Contre les Endémies en Afrique Centrale (OCEAC) Parfait Awono-Ambene & Christophe Antonio-Nkondjio KCNA: participated in data collection; performed laboratory analysis analyzed and interpreted the data; wrote the manuscript; revised the manuscript laboratory analysis and revised the manuscript CAN: Conceived and designed the study protocol; critically revised the manuscript All authors read and approved the final maunscript The study was conducted under the ethical clearance N°2020/04/1209/CE/CNERSH/SP delivered by the Cameroon National Ethics Committee for Research on Human Health (CNERSH) Signed authorizations from District Health Officers (DHO) and owners of houses that served as collection points were also obtained The authors declare no competing interests Distribution of mosquito genera in the different study sites Distribution of Anopheles species in the different study sites Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-023-04544-z (Business in Cameroon) - Cameroon saved XAF18.5 billion on the construction of the Léna-Nsegbe-Tibati (135.16 km) entrusted to Sogea Satom the Ministry of Public Works recently revealed an initial savings of XAF15 billion was realized during the contractualization process since the offer made by Sogea Satom was below the budget set aside for the project XAF3.5 billion was saved by reducing the volume of building materials With the XAF15 billion saved during the contractualization process the ministry ordered additional works on 27 km (Tibati-Ngatt-Ngaoundéré) thus extending the length of roads to be asphalted “167 km of road will finally be built instead of the initial 135.16 km,” the ministry indicates For the XAF3.5 billion saved on building materials the project owner proposed to increase the linear distance between Tibati and Ngaoundéré by an additional 4,350 km to install a second weighing station to ensure the fluidity of traffic and limit the risks of degradation It also suggested the construction of bus stations and parking in Tibati as well as the construction of a rigid hydraulic concrete pavement instead of a flexible asphalt concrete pavement at the weighing areas that it had won a contract worth about XAF73.4 billion for the construction of a 135.16 km road between the Lena (Centre) and Tibati (Adamaoua) and the development of 6.7 km of roads in Tibati the execution rate was estimated at 54% by the Ministry of Public Works (Business in Cameroon) - The Batchenga-Léna-Tibati road project is more than just paving a highway Described as an “integrated project” by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Works the initiative aims to boost local development for communities along the route the project receives significant funding from the AfDB which emphasizes its socio-economic impact More than CFA7 billion has been allocated to rehabilitate socio-economic infrastructure “We’ve built numerous socio-economic facilities along the entire route,” said Maurice Njontu head of co-financed road projects at the Ministry of Public Works The project has upgraded 120 kilometers of rural roads in towns along the Batchenga-Léna-Tibati route It also paved 63 kilometers of urban roads in Ntui Yoko now boasts over 14 kilometers of paved roads Basic infrastructure has seen major improvements Hospitals and health centers received new equipment highlighted the construction of a fully equipped hospital in his municipality at a cost of over CFA50 million The community also benefited from improved facilities for local radio stations and the construction of a bilingual primary school The project also focuses on empowering women through a CFA2 billion agreement with UN Women titled Promotion of Gender and Acceleration of Women’s Economic Empowerment Along the Batchenga-Ntui-Yoko-Léna Road has provided women with training in entrepreneurship 30 land titles have already been issued to women Another 25 titles are set to be distributed soon “We’ve prioritized gender-focused infrastructure like processing plants,” said Maurice Njontu “The necessary equipment is being delivered and women have been trained for these activities We encourage them to form cooperatives and working groups.” The Batchenga-Léna-Tibati project is part of Cameroon’s National Road 15 corridor which connects Douala to the northern regions as well as Chad and the Central African Republic The overall goal is to pave 597 kilometers between Batchenga and Ngaoundéré The first phase involves developing 412 kilometers between Batchenga in the Center region and Tibati in the Adamawa region (Business in Cameroon) - The Cameroonian government has secured 200,000 hectares of land in the Yoko-Lena-Tibati corridor which stretches between the Central and Adamaoua regions The goal is to attract investors and boost local agricultural production The Minister Delegate to the Minister of Economy shared this information during the 2025 state budget defense before the National Assembly's Finance Committee He also mentioned that an additional 200,000 hectares are being secured This initiative is part of the Integrated Agro-Pastoral and Fisheries Import-Substitution Project (Piisah) which aims to increase local production of key crops such as rice Cameroon seeks through this project to reduce its reliance on cereal imports which weigh heavily on the cost of food imports Cameroon used CFA387.7 billion to import cereals with CFA200.8 billion spent on rice and CFA178.3 billion on wheat for bread production The government hopes that by securing 400,000 hectares of land they will reduce these import costs by boosting local agricultural output “90% of our production comes from family farms we need to scale up,” said Gabriel Mbairobe “This requires promoting medium and large farms with high yields and productivity To attract private investors into agriculture Despite efforts to promote import substitution Cameroon faces significant production deficits in most agricultural sectors One of the challenges is land disputes between agro-industrial developers and local communities A notable example is the cancellation of a 2016 agreement that set aside more than 66,000 hectares in the Vallée du Ntem in the South region The cancellation followed protests from locals over a lease of 26,000 hectares given to Neo Industry which intended to develop cocoa farms for processing at its Kekém factory in the West region (Business in Cameroon) - Chinese company Sinohydro winner of lot 4 for the construction of Batchenga-Ntui-Yoko-Lena-Tibati road has delivered its Yoko-Lena (44.9 km) section as planned in the deadlines This was revealed by the Cameroonian minister of public works users are already able to easily circulate along the paved 44.9 km itinerary that connects Yoko to Lema in the central region Yoko-Lena is the first section of the Nationale N°15 to be completed The completed road is an R80 (reference speed of 80 km/h) and R60 (reference speed 60 km/h) category infrastructure This means that depending on the track being crossed the reference speeds should be either 80 km/h or 60 km/h a 2.5 km road has also been constructed in Yoko This cross-section is a 10-meter platform that includes roadway of two 3.5-meter roads and two 1.5-meter roadsides at the rural bend area Sinohydro also placed empty tubes for optical fibres The lot 4 was funded (XAF19.61 billion) by the AfDB and Cameroon Sinohydro was chosen to pave the 7-meter large road and build related infrastructures that will improve residents’ living conditions The consortium Cira/Bec/la Routière was chosen to monitor the works on this lot as well as on lot 2 and 3 for XAF5.43 billion (Business in Cameroon) - The thermal power plants at Tibati which were the main sources of energy for these localities in the Adamaoua region This closure will follow the commissioning of a mini hydroelectric plant (1.4 MW) inaugurated on April 14 in Mbakaou the small hydroelectric plant of Mbakaou will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 67,000 tons by 2030 following the cessation of thermal power plants Tibati and Mbakaou,” said the Minister of Water and Energy (Minee) This makes an average annual reduction of more than 7,444 tons The energy company Eneo estimates that the reduction will be 4,893 tons of CO2 per year Cameroon produces about 8.62 million tons of CO2 annually The estimated reduction is therefore insignificant compared to the country's overall emissions Cameroon is betting on the upcoming commissioning of the Nachtigal hydroelectric plant and the full availability of the Memve'ele hydroelectric dam as well as the Guider solar power plant to improve its energy mix and further reduce CO2 emissions related to electricity generation Let’s recall that in its nationally determined contribution (NDC) adopted in 2015 at the 21st United Nations Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP21) Cameroon had committed to reducing its CO2 emissions by 32% by 2030 (Business in Cameroon) - Indian firms Kalpataru Projets International Limited and Transrail Lighting Limited secured three lots of the Cameroon-Chad electrical interconnection project (Pirect) as indicated in the contract award notice signed by Victor Mbemi Nyankga the Managing Director of the National Electricity Transmission Company (Sonatrel) The Indian service providers are responsible for the design and installation of high-voltage lines for the 225 kV interconnection between the Southern Interconnected Network (RIS) and the Northern Interconnected Network (RIN) in three lots The total value of the contract is estimated at a little more than CFA119.7 billion with a 20-month execution period for each lot Kalpataru Projets International Limited secures lots 1 and 2 of the project involves high-voltage line work from Nachtigal to Yoko (Central Region) Lot 2 covers the construction of a high-voltage line from Yoko to Tibati (Adamawa Region) for CFA34.1 billion Lot 3 is awarded to Transrail Lighting Limited and involves the design and installation of the high-voltage line from Tibati to Wouro Soua (Adamawa Region) for CFA44.2 billion the two selected companies competed with several others whose offers were rejected for non-compliance in all three lots Companies such as the China Railway First Group consortium had their offers evaluated but were not selected Kalpataru has previously worked on several electrical projects in Africa and Cameroon including the construction of the 225 kV power transmission line between Nkongsamba-Bafoussam and Yaoundé-Abong-Mbang claims to have proven its capabilities in various projects in Africa officially launched on November 21 in Yaoundé the project aims to supply the northern regions of Cameroon and Chad thereby improving electricity access rates in both countries It involves transporting the electric power generated by the Nachtigal Dam (420 MW) still under construction in the Central Region of Cameroon over a transport network spanning more than 1,300 km to reach the Chadian city of Bongor the Project is estimated at CFA557.5 billion and is financed by the World Bank (Business in Cameroon) - While the lot 4 (44.9-km Yoko-Lena section) of the Nationale n° 15 Batchenga (Centre)-Ntui-Yoko-Lena-Tibati (Adamaoua) has been completed already the five other sections are still under construction The progress of three of them is relatively good These are the Batchenga-Ntui (lot 1) and Léna-Sengbé-Tibati (lots 5 and 6) sections works are 58% completed on lot 1 and are handled by French company Razel Apart from the long-range bridge being constructed over the Sanaga river in Nachtigal the company has started the pavement works and the first kilometers of pavement are already visible The ground layer is being laid from Nachtigal-Ntui to pk 17 +800 8 kilometers of coating has already been laid between Batchenga and Nachtigal (10 km) As far as the bridge over the Sanaga river is concerned 15 out of the planned 32 cones at the Batchenga side are being built along with 14 out of the 32 cones planned for the Ntui side “The company plans to accelerate works at the start of the dry season,” the ministry indicates works are 40.47% completed by Satom despite the pluviometry and problems encountered when residents had to free the spaces along the section’s track the company is preparing the laying of pavement layers with the realization of the test board for the ground layer at the 122 + 650-kilometer point by the company’s mobilization on the field this month (October 2019) Lots 2 and 3 that include the 180-km Ntui-Mankim-Yoko section are a source of concerns the works entrusted to Portuguese group Elevolution Engenharia (Elevo) are trampling the minister of public works Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi even cancelled the Elevo’s contract for lot 2 ( 96.7-km Ntui-Mankim section) “The renovation of  Nationale N° 15 is a strong symbol of the head of states’ will to densify national economy and consolidate Cameroon’s position in the Central African sub-region with an ongoing investment of about XAF360 billion in a complex economic environment,” the ministry of public environment says the Minister of Public Works Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi took part in the partial delivery of the 167.22km Lena-Tibati-Ngatt road stretch which is a part of the National Road No.15 (Batchenga-Ngaoundéré) that connects the Central area to Adamaoua’s Ngaoundéré XAF73.4 billion was spent on the Lena-Tibati-Ngatt road stretch Its provisional approval follows the completion of the 21.3-kilometer Batchenga-Ntui section which cost XAF34.52 billion and was completed in December 2020 It also follows the completion of the Yoko-Léna stretch (45.241 km) in February 2020 Read also: Ghana: Agona Nkwanta–Tarkwa Road reconstruction works begins       a total of 233.7 kilometers of road sections have been completed while various road sections totaling 78.8 kilometers are still under construction Lot 2 A Ntui-Ndjolé (60 km) comprising 73 km of community roads and Lot 2 B Ndjolé-Mankim (36.7 km) were assigned to China Railway 20 Bureau Group Corporation (CR20) in late 2021 to complete. The Chinese company is ready to resume the construction works which were withdrawn from Portuguese firm Elevolution Engenheria SA (Elevo) Elevo is currently constructing the 82.10 km Mankim-Yoko stretch for a total cost of XAF46.14 billion with the consortium Cira S.A./Bec la Routière serving as a technical supervisor The government is considering mobilizing joint State of Cameroon Islamic Development Bank and the European Union funding to construct the Batchenga-Ngaoundéré route the Ngatt-Ngaoundéré stretch (185 km) must be paved to complete the Batchenga-Ngaoundéré corridor The Batchenga-Ntui-Yoko-Tibati-Ngaoundéré road is a key north-south trade route connecting the capital Yaoundé to the Centre It will also allow access to various cities and villages via a network of runways connected to the highway Welcome to Construction Review a portal that serves the building and construction industry through our blog social media presence and print publication Contact us Guest Posting Take down policy