GIARDIASIS

'Giardiasis' (also known as 'beaver fever') is a disease caused by the flagellate protozoan ''Giardia lamblia'' (also sometimes called ''Giardia intestinalis'' and ''Giardia duodenalis'') ^[1]. The giardia organism inhabits the digestive tract of a wide variety of domestic and wild animal species, including humans. It is a common cause of gastroenteritis in humans, infecting approximately 200 million people worldwide.

Contents

Transmission

Symptoms

Treatment

Testing

References

External links

Transmission

Giardiasis is passed via the fecal-oral route. Primary routes are personal contact and contaminated water and food. People who spend time in institutional or day-care environments are more susceptible, as are travelers and those who consume improperly treated water. It is a particular danger to people hiking or backpacking in wilderness areas worldwide. Giardia is suspected to be zoonotic—communicable between animals and humans. Major reservoir hosts would include beavers, dogs, cats, horses, and cattle.

Symptoms

Symptoms include loss of appetite, lethargy, fever, explosive diarrhea, loose or watery stool, stomach cramps, upset stomach, projectile vomiting (uncommon), bloating, and flatulence. Symptoms typically begin 1–2 weeks after infection and may wane and reappear cyclically. Symptoms are caused largely by the thick coating of ''Giardia'' organisms coating the inside of the small intestine and blocking nutrient absorption. Most people are asymptomatic; only about a third of infected people exhibit symptoms.

Treatment

Drugs used to treat adults include metronidazole, albendazole and quinacrine. Furazolidone and nitazoxanide may be used in children. Treatment is not always necessary, as the body can defeat the infection by itself.
The drug tinidazole can treat giardiasis in a single treatment of 2000 mg, instead of the longer treatment of the other medications listed. The shorter duration of treatment may also cause less patient distress. Tinidazole is now approved by the FDA^[2] and available to U.S. patients.
The supplement barberry (''Berberis vulgaris'') can also be helpful in treating Giardiasis.^[3][4]

Testing

While most sources suggest that commonly used tests for giardia are unreliable, a new immunologic test referred to as ELISA, for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay are now available. These tests are capable of a 90 percent detection rate or more. ^[5]

References

1. Huang, White. An Updated Review on Cryptosporidium and Giardia ''Gastroenterol Clin N Am 35'' (2006) 291–314
2. FDA info on Tindamax.
3. List of natural supplements, retrieved Feb. 7, 2007
4. [1]
5. Giardia Lamblia and Giardiasis by Robert L. Rockwell, PhD

External links

★ Giardiasis Fact Sheet

★ eMedicine Health Giardiasis