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GIARDIA LAMBLIA

EPIDEMIOLOGY & RISK FACTORS


Giardiasis is a diarrheal illness caused by the parasite Giardia intestinalis (also known as Giardia lamblia or Giardia duodenalis). A parasite is an organism that feeds off of another to survive.

Giardiasis is a global disease. It infects nearly 2% of adults and 6% to 8% of children in developed countries worldwide. Nearly 33% of people in developing countries have had giardiasis. In the United States, Giardia infection is the most common intestinal parasitic disease affecting humans.

People become infected with Giardia by swallowing Giardia cysts (hard shells containing Giardia) found in contaminated food or water. Cysts are instantly infectious once they leave the host through feces. An infected person might shed 1-10 billion cysts daily in their feces and this might last for several months. However, swallowing as few as 10 cysts might cause someone to become. Giardia may be passed person-to-person or even animal-to-person. Also, oral-anal contact during sex has been known to cause infection. Symptoms of giardiasis normally begin 1 to 3 weeks after a person has been infected. Giardia infection rates have been known to go up in late summer. Between 2006-2008 in the United States, known cases of giardiasis were twice as high between June-October as they were between January-March.
Anyone may become infected with Giardia. However, those at greatest risk are :

  • Travelers to countries where giardiasis is common
  • People in child care settings
  • Those who are in close contact with someone who has the disease
  • People who swallow contaminated drinking water
  • Backpackers or campers who drink untreated water from lakes or rivers
  • People who have contact with animals who have the disease
  • Men who have sex with men
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    For more information view the source:Center for Disease Control

    Recommended Test:Full GI Panel

    Recommended Product:Freedom Cleanse Restore Parasite Cleanse

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