Synonyms
Cercomonas intestinalis; Giardia duodenalis; Giardia intestinalis; Giardia lamblia; Lamblia intestinalis; Megastoma enterica
Definition
Giardiasis, caused by the intestinal parasite, Giardia lamblia, is the leading GI protozoan disease worldwide with an increase in summer and autumn. Many countries, especially developing countries show a high prevalence of giardiasis. Infection occurs by fecal-oral transmission, contaminated food and water, and person to person transmission, particularly in homosexuals. It is commonly observed in patients with selective IgA deficiency and in HIV-infected patients. Diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, nausea and vomiting, malabsorption, and weight loss are the main presenting symptoms. Giardia can be diagnosed by stool examination, examination of duodenal aspirates or duodenal biopsies. The taxonomy is giardiasis is complicated as there are seven known species including G. duodenaliswhich is divided into eight assemblages. They are based on...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences and Further Reading
Barry, M. A., Weatherhead, J. E., Hotez, P. J., & Woc-Colburn, L. (2013). Childhood parasitic infections endemic to the United States. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 60(2), 471–485.
Muhsen, K., & Levine, M. M. (2012). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between Giardia lamblia and endemic pediatric diarrhea in developing countries. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 55(Suppl 4), S271–S293.
Nash, T. E. (2013). Unraveling how Giardia infections cause disease. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 123(6), 2346–2347.
Oberhuber, G., Kastner, N., & Stolte, M. (1997). Giardiasis: A histologic analysis of 567 cases. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 32, 48–51.
Ortega, Y. N., & Adam, R. D. (1997). Giardia: Overview and update. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 25, 545–550.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Ensari, A. (2017). Giardiasis. In: Carneiro, F., Chaves, P., Ensari, A. (eds) Pathology of the Gastrointestinal Tract. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40560-5_1480
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40560-5_1480
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-40559-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-40560-5
eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine