Background: The neglected tropical diseases are a group of 13 infections that
affect more than one billion people worldwide, especially those who live in
extreme poverty. Aim: This study was conducted to determine community
knowledge of these neglected tropical diseases (NTD) in Cameroon. Materials
and Methods: A random sampling method was used to administer
questionnaires to 3345 adults. Results: 2566 (76.7%) of people approached
responded to the questionnaire. This comprised 1313 (51.2%) females and
1253 (48.8%) males. There was a significant level of association between the
opinion of the respondents and their region of residence (P<0.05). Globally the
percentage of persons with good knowledge of one of the neglected tropical
diseases was low (ranging from 23.1% to 80.9%). Diseases for which the
population had the highest percentages of knowledge were leprosy (80.9%),
soil-transmitted helminth infections (75.3%), lymphatic filariosis (70.3%),
onchocerciasis (66.2%) and human African trypanosomiasis (57.8%). Diseases
for which people had the least percentages of knowledge were leishmaniosis
(18.0%), dracunculiasis (23.1%), buruli ulcer (23.8%), trachoma (38.2%),
endemic treponematosis (41.5%) and schistosomiasis (49.1%). Populations
living in urban areas had a greater knowledge of the neglected tropical diseases
than those living in rural and peri-urban areas (P<0.05) and males exhibited a
greater knowledge than females (P<0.05). Conclusion: There was low
community knowledge pattern of neglected tropical diseases, mostly among the
female populations and people living in rural areas. We advocate mass media
health education to be adopted as one of the strategies for the national control
policy of NTDs.