What is Giardia?

What is Giardia?

• Giardia: Contagious parasitic digestive infection.
• Giardia: A species of parasitic protozoa that attaches itself to the intestinal mucosa and feeds on mucous secretions. The organism is roughly pear-shaped and motility is somewhat erratic, with a slow oscillation about the long axis. Considered for many years to be non-pathogenic and often found in completely asymptomatic individuals, there is presently strong evidence for its pathogenic potential.
  Source - Diseases Database
• Giardia: a suspected cause of diarrhea in humans.
  Source - WordNet 2.1

Giardia is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Giardia, or a subtype of Giardia, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Giardia: Introduction

Types of Giardia:

Broader types of Giardia:

• Digestive Diseases
• Infectious Diarrhea
• Sudden Digestive Conditions
• Digestive Infection, Sudden
• Zoonotic Diseases
• Food poisoning
• Protozoan Conditions
• Diseases contagious from contaminated water
• Stomach Conditions
• more types...»

How many people get Giardia?

Incidence (annual) of Giardia: 16.29 per 100,000 in Canada 2000¹
Incidence Rate of Giardia: approx 1 in 6,138 or 0.02% or 44,308 people in USA [about data]
Prevalance of Giardia: The overall incidence of infection in the United States is estimated at 2% of the population. Giardiasis is the most frequent cause of non-bacterial diarrhea in North America. (Source: FDA Bad Bug Book) ... Giardiasis is more prevalent in children than in adults, possibly because many individuals seem to have a lasting immunity after infection. This organism is implicated in 25% of the cases of gastrointestinal disease and may be present asymptomatically. The overall incidence of infection in the United States is estimated at 2% of the population. (Source: FDA Bad Bug Book)

Who gets Giardia?

Profile for Giardia: Giardiasis occurs throughout the population, although the prevalence is higher in children than adults. Chronic symptomatic giardiasis is more common in adults than children. (Source: FDA Bad Bug Book)

How serious is Giardia?

Complications of Giardia: see complications of Giardia
Prognosis of Giardia: Normally illness lasts for 1 to 2 weeks, but there are cases of chronic infections lasting months to years. Chronic cases, both those with defined immune deficiencies and those without, are difficult to treat. (Source: FDA Bad Bug Book)

What causes Giardia?

Causes of Giardia: see causes of Giardia
Cause of Giardia: Parasitic infection, sometimes in contaminated water sources.
Causes of Giardia: Surveillance Organisms that appear identical to those that cause human illness have been isolated from domestic animals (dogs and cats) and wild animals (beavers and bears). A related but morphologically distinct organism infects rodents, although rodents may be infected with human isolates in the laboratory. Human giardiasis may involve diarrhea within 1 week of ingestion of the cyst, which is the environmental survival form and infective stage of the organism. (Source: FDA Bad Bug Book)
Risk factors for Giardia: see risk factors for Giardia

What are the symptoms of Giardia?

Symptoms of Giardia: see symptoms of Giardia

Complications of Giardia: see complications of Giardia

Incubation period for Giardia: Symptoms generally begin 1-2 weeks after being infected.  (Source: excerpt from Giardiasis: DPD)

Duration of Giardia: Up to a month without treatments; quicker with treatment.

Duration of Giardia: I n otherwise healthy persons, symptoms may last 2-6 weeks. Occasionally, symptoms last longer.  (Source: excerpt from Giardiasis: DPD)

Can anyone else get Giardia?

More information: see contagiousness of Giardia

Giardia: Testing

Diagnostic testing: see tests for Giardia.

Misdiagnosis: see misdiagnosis and Giardia.

How is it treated?

Treatments for Giardia: see treatments for Giardia
Prevention of Giardia: see prevention of Giardia
Research for Giardia: see research for Giardia

Organs Affected by Giardia:

Organs and body systems related to Giardia include:

• Stomach
• Digestive

Name and Aliases of Giardia

Main name of condition: Giardia

Class of Condition for Giardia: parasite protozoa

giardiasis, Giardia lamblia, Beaver fever, Lambliasis

Cercomonas intestinalis, Giardiasis, Lambliases, Giardia lamblia Source - Diseases Database

Research the causes of these diseases that are similar to, or related to, Giardia:

• Giardiasis
• Traveler's diarrhea
• Giardia lamblia
• Lambliasis
• Giardia intestinalis
• Giardia duodenalis
• Backpacker's diarrhea
• Beaver fever

 » Next page: Online Medical Textbooks for Giardia

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