Objective: To compare an improved corn–soya blend (CSB+) with a ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF) to test the hypothesis that satisfactory recovery rate will be achieved with CSB+ or RUSF when these foods provide 50 % of the child’s energy requirement, the 50 % remaining coming from usual diet.Design: A comparative efficacy trial study was conducted with moderately wasted children, using a controlled randomized design, with parallel assignment for RUSF or CSB+. Every child received a daily ration of 167 kJ (40 kcal)/kg body weight during 56 d with a follow-up performed every 14 d. Every caregiver received nutrition counselling at enrolment and at each follow-up visit.Setting: Health districts of Mvog-Beti and Evodoula in the Centre region of Cameroon.Subjects: Eight hundred and thirty-three children aged 6–59 months were screened and eighty-one malnourished children (weight-for-heightZ-score between −3 and −2) aged 25–59 months were selected.Results: Of children treated with CSB+ and RUSF, 73 % (95 % CI 59 %, 87 %) and 85 % (95 % CI 73 %, 97 %), respectively, recovered from moderate acute malnutrition, with no significant difference between groups. The mean duration of treatment required to achieve recovery was 44 d in the RUSF group and 51 d in the CSB+ group (log-rank test,P=0·0048).Conclusions: There was no significant difference in recovery rate between the groups. Both CSB+ and RUSF were relatively successful for the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition in children. Despite the relatively low ration size provided, the recovery rates observed for both groups were comparable to or higher than those reported in previous studies, a probable effect of nutrition education.

Antimicrobials are widely used in chicken production in Cameroon, but no quantitative data are available. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 98 farms holding 220,262 chickens, from February to May 2015 in six areas of Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, to describe and quantify the use of antimicrobials. All the farms were using antimicrobials via drinking water administration. Twenty types of drugs containing antimicrobials belonging to 9 classes were recorded. 19.4 % of farms used antimicrobials for therapeutic purpose, 11.2 % for prophylactic purpose and 69.4 % for both therapeutic and prophylactic. No disease was recorded in 36.7 % of farms during the last 3 months and 42.9 % of farms were not following withdrawal periods. Fluoroquinolones, sulfonamides, tetracyclines and nitrofurans were the antimicrobials commonly used by most farms (57.1, 53.1, 46.9 and 17.3 % respectively), whereas sulfonamides, tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones and nitrofurans were quantitatively the most used compounds (48.2, 26.5, 16.1 and 7.6 % of the total amount of antimicrobials used). The ratio of Used Daily Doses (UDD)/Defined Daily Doses (DDD) estimating correctness of dosing showed that enrofloxacin, sulfadimethoxine and trimethoprim were underdosed in most of the administrations whereas ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, erythromycin, flumequine, furaltadone, neomycin, sulfadiazine, sulfadimidin and sulfamerazine were usually overdosed. High and uncontrolled usage of antimicrobials (sulfonamides, tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones) was noted in chicken farming in Yaoundé, Cameroon, as well as usage of banned substances such as nitrofurans. It is therefore necessary to implement actions that will prevent the misuse of antimicrobials.

Agriculture is undoubtedly the backbone of the Cameroonian economy, and other economic activities thrive only if production in this sector is assured. It has been estimated that approximately 25 million agricultural workers worldwide experience unintentional pesticide poisoning yearly. Unfortunately, limited information exists about the health and safety of the farmers. The aim of this study was to describe the occupational health and safety (OHS) conditions of farmers working on small-scale tomato farms in the western region of Cameroon. A cross-sectional research method was used to collect data from tomato farmers in May 2017, using a questionnaire developed by the research team. A total of 104 tomato farmers from small-scale farms participated in the study. The analysis revealed that the occupation is male-dominated (86.5%). The training and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) among farmers were rare (35.6%), and farmers were mostly exposed to chemical hazards. The farmers reported the following work-related health problems: skin irritation, backache, impairment of the central nervous system (CNS), visual problems, and respiratory difficulties. The OHS conditions on small-scale tomato farms are mostly poor, thus predisposing farmers to the risk of work-related health problems. Exposure to occupational hazards can be significantly reduced if the required PPE are available and efficiently used.