Nuisances animales et santé en milieu urbain : cas dans le IIIème arrondissement de la ville de douala.

Abstract

The phenomenon of animal nuisance is a problem accentuated in Cameroon’s urban areas since decades and which the emphasis can be noticed through its consequences on the population. The topic remains one of the least considerate, according to the limited researches and documentation dedicated to it; meanwhile its effects are growing stronger. Those observations caught our attention and we decided to title our research topic as follows: “animal’s nuisances and human health in urban areas: the case of the district municipality of Douala III”. The aim of it is to identify animal species that cause nuisances in Douala III, their consequences or effects on human health and to evaluate the different strategies and methods brought out to manage the effects of the phenomenon. To achieve these objectives implied to build up a scientific methodology, which helped to acquire useful information and data. This was a mixed survey (qualitative and quantitative) carried out on a sample of 233 households chosen randomly in 10 districts of Douala III. We developed questionnaires and interview guide to which we joined second source data collected online and in libraries, and primary data source obtained by direct observation on the field. From that, we have got an important database that was exploited thoroughly. At the end of investigations, we found out that flies (mosquitoes particularly), rodents, reptiles (lizard), and birds are part of the main group of harmful species in the district municipality of Douala III (76.8%), and contribute in spraying virus and vectors that cause diseases. Analysis show that investigated population regularly deal with symptoms like injuries (6.4%), skin rashes (97.3%), fever (58.8%) and other symptoms as nausea, abdominal pain, stress, insomnia, headache, throw ups, and others (27.5%). We could easily identify diseases like leptospirosis, dengue, malaria, typhoid fever, salmonellosis; we also identified many exposed and vulnerable groups like children, pregnant women, and elderly people just to mention these ones. Our results also show the different factors that facilitate the presence and the proliferation of animal’s nuisances on our field of interest, such as: living conditions, waste disposal, promiscuity and human activities such as: agriculture and breeding which lead to the permanent presence of animals in urban areas. According to the population’s satisfaction concerning the strategies and methods of management of animal’s nuisances in their community, we conclude that those are somehow insufficient though the effects are still quite present. As a result, collaboration between all parties and actors, mostly populations and competent authorities will help adopt solutions that fit with the realities faced; as we observed, the challenges vary from one quarter to another.