The impact of small dams on parasitic diseases in Cameroon

Economic development in Africa implies the provision of vast, sparsely populated regions with improved road networks and agricultural techniques. Climatic constraints mean that control of water resources is essential in arid areas. But hydrogrophic modifications also have the potential for adverse impact on the health of local populations. The extension of water sources and their all year round supply of water mean that people are attracted towards them, and to the same places where conditions favour the spread of intermediate hosts and vectors of parasitic diseases such as schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis, drocunculiasis and malaria. Doctor, epidemiologists, and the engineers involved in rural earth-works must therefore work together to establish systems that impede the transmission of such diseases. Examples from the Cameroon typify the need for such an approach.