Impact of Malaria and Intestinal Parasitic Infections on Inflammatory Cytokines amongst Armed Forces of the North West and South West, Cameroon

Abstract

Malaria and intestinal helminthic infections present a significant public health challenge, particularly in tropical regions. The study was designed to determine the impact of Malaria and Intestinal helminthic infections on inflammatory cytokines amongst Armed Forces in the North West and South West Cameroon. This was a cross-sectional study carried out between May 2022 to April 2024. A total of 812 stool and venous blood samples were collected for the identification of malaria and intestinal parasites and for evaluation of inflammatory cytokines. The study used Giemsa staining and Kato-Katz methods to identify malaria and intestinal parasites, while Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to evaluate inflammatory cytokine concentrations and statistical comparisons were performed using SPSS. Results obtained showed that the prevalence of Malaria, intestinal helminths and co-infections were 13.6%, 22.8% and 3.2% respectively. TNF-α, INF-γ, and IL-1β concentration mean levels were significant in Plasmodium  falciparum infected participants (p = 0.000). Trichuris  trichiura infected participants showed a positive significant impact on TNF-α (p = 0.000); IL-1β (p = 0.000) and IL-6 (p = 0.035) while Schistosoma mansoni showed a significant impact on TNF-α (p = 0.044) and IL-1β (p = 0.037). Schistosoma intercalatum infected participants showed a significant value of IL-1β (p = 0.004). Also, co-infection with these parasites significantly impacted TNF-α (p = 0.002), INF-γ (p = 0.001), and IL-1β (p =0.000). The study provided evidence that Plasmodium spp., Trichuris trichiura, Schistosoma mansoni, Schistosoma intercalatum and co-infections negatively impacted pro-inflammatory cytokines. This confirms that Malaria and Intestinal helminthic infections engage immunity responses.