Giardiasis (Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments)

Introduction

Giardiasis is an infection of your small intestine caused by a microscopic parasite called Giardia lamblia. Once a person or an animal has been affected by Giardia, the parasite lives in the intestine and passes in the person’s feces. The parasite can survive outside the body for weeks or months.

Giardia infection is one of the most common causes of waterborne disease in the United States. This infection can now be found in all regions of the world, mostly in areas with poor sanitation systems and drinking unsafe water. Giardia lamblia is widely distributed in streams and lakes, but it is also found in swimming pools, municipal water supplies, and wells.

The Giardia infection usually lasts for a week or two. However, the parasites that were once present in your intestine can cause long-lasting damage, leading to ongoing problems.

Different types of drugs have been designed to treat this parasitic infection, but different people respond differently to them.

The best way to avoid this infection is through prevention. This infection can spread from person to person, from animal to person, or through contaminated food. Precautions are best suited for the treatment of Giardiasis.

Cysts are resistant forms and are responsible for the transmission of giardiasis. Both cysts and trophozoites can be found in the feces (diagnostic stages).

The cysts are hardy and can survive for several months in cold water. Infection occurs by the ingestion of cysts in contaminated water or food or by the fecal-oral route (hands or fomites). In the small intestine, excystation releases trophozoites (each cyst produces two trophozoites).

Trophozoites multiply by longitudinal binary fission, remaining in the lumen of the proximal small bowel where they can be free or attached to the mucosa by a ventral sucking disc. Encystation occurs as the parasites transit toward the colon.

The cyst is the stage found most commonly in non-diarrheal feces. Because the cysts are infectious when passed in the stool or shortly afterward, person-to-person transmission is possible. While animals are infected with Giardia, their importance as a reservoir is unclear. (ref: CDC, Wikipedia).

Main Causes

• As this parasite is present in human and animal feces, these parasites are also present in contaminated water, food, and soil, and these parasites can survive for long periods outside the host. Thus if you accidentally encounter these parasites, you will get the infection.
• The most common cause of Giardiasis is drinking contaminated water. Water containing parasites in lakes, pools, or other bodies of water could cause an intestinal infection.
• Giardiasis could also be spread through contaminated food. However, this means of infection is less common, as parasites are killed by heat during sterilisation. Poorly handled food in close contact with contaminated water can spread infection.
• Personal contact is another cause of spreading infection. A person with an infection can easily spread it to another person who comes into physical contact with him.
• People working in daycare clinics are also susceptible to infection. They can get infected while changing the children’s diapers as the children are more susceptible to the disease due to the encounter of feces while wearing diapers.

Symptoms Most people remain asymptomatic for 1 to 2 weeks after the infection. The symptoms progress slowly in some individuals, and some people do not show any symptoms at all. The common symptoms of Giardiasis are:

• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Bloating
• Abdominal pain
• Headache
• Weight loss
• Gas or Flatulence

In India, especially in the mountainous northern regions, giardia is a common hazard for most backpackers. The telltale sign is a sudden onset of eggy burps, and a lot of it too. The smell is unmistakable and a secondary hazard for those using the shared dormitory accommodation.

Risk Factors Giardia parasite is a very common intestinal parasite, but some people are especially at risk:

1. Poor Sanitation People in areas with poor sanitation or inadequate clean drinking water systems are more susceptible to the infection because this infectious parasite is abundant in contaminated water reservoirs. So, people with poor sanitation systems are more affected.
2. Unsafe Anal Sex As this disease spreads from person to person, the physical contact of an infected individual will spread the disease to the other person. Taking precautions is the best way to prevent this intestinal infection.
3. Children Children are more susceptible to this intestinal infection as they are more in contact with feces as they wear diapers or in toilet training classes; the germs could be spread from one child to the other. The people working in health care departments are also more susceptible due to their encounters with feces.

Complications The mild symptoms get severe in some individuals and lead to associated complications.

• The infection can cause lactose intolerance in some individuals.
• Children under the age of 5 having infections are at risk of malnutrition that can interfere with their physical and mental development.
• Diarrhea associated with the infection sometimes leads to dehydration.

Precautions The drugs and medicines have proved a little effective in the case of this parasite infection. The best way to do this is to adopt some protective measures to avoid this infection.

1. Wash Hands Properly A routine of washing your hands properly will save you from several infectious parasites. Wash your hands before eating. People working in health care should use proper alcohol-based sanitisers after treating infected individuals.
2. Drink Clean Water Make it a habit to drink clean or mineral water. Infected water is the main source of this infection, and drinking clean water will prevent you from many diseases, including this infectious parasite.
3. Practice Safer Sex Try to avoid unsafe sex and contact with unknown people. They might be the carriers of the infection, and this Giardiasis spreads from person to person. It will reduce your chances of being infected by this parasite.

This scanning electron micrograph (SEM) revealed some of the external ultrastructural details displayed by a flagellated Giardia lamblia protozoan parasite. G. lamblia is the organism responsible for causing the diarrheal disease “giardiasis”.

Once an animal or person has been infected with this protozoan, the parasite lives in the intestine and is passed in the stool. Because the parasite is protected by an outer shell, it can survive outside the body and in the environment for long periods of time. (ref: CDC, Wikipedia).