occupational health & safety /wsu animal contact program
Giardiasis (GEE-are-DYE-uh-sis)
What is giardiasis?
Giardiasis is an illness caused by Giardia lamblia, a one-celled, microscopic
parasite that lives in the intestines of people and animals. During the past 15
years, Giardia lamblia has become recognized as one of the most common causes of
waterborne disease in humans in the United States. This parasite is found in
every region of the United States and throughout the world.
What are the symptoms of giardiasis?
Diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and nausea are the most common symptoms of
giardiasis. These symptoms may lead to weight loss and dehydration. However, not
everyone infected has symptoms.
How long after being infected do symptoms appear?
Symptoms usually appear 1-2 weeks after infection with the parasite.
How long will I have symptoms?
In otherwise healthy persons, symptoms may last 4-6 weeks. Occasionally,
symptoms last longer.
How can I get giardiasis?
* By putting anything into your mouth that has touched the stool of a person
or animal with giardiasis.
* By swallowing water contaminated with Giardia.
A person can swallow a Giardia cyst, the infectious stage of the parasite, by
consuming water from swimming pools, lakes, rivers, springs, ponds, or streams
contaminated with sewage or feces from humans or animals.
* By eating
uncooked food contaminated with Giardia cysts. Thoroughly wash with safe water
all vegetables and fruits you plan to eat raw.
* By touching and bringing to
your mouth cysts picked up from surfaces (i.e., toys, bathroom fixtures,
changing tables, diaper pails) contaminated with stool from an infected person.
Who is at risk?
Persons at increased risk for giardiasis include child care workers;
diaper-aged children who attend day care centers; international travelers;
hikers; campers; and others who drink untreated water from contaminated sources.
Several community-wide outbreaks of giardiasis have been linked to drinking
municipal water contaminated with Giardia.
What should I do if I think I have giardiasis?
See your health care provider who will ask you to submit stool samples to see
if you are harboring the parasite. Because Giardia can be difficult to diagnose,
your health care provider may ask you to submit several stool specimens over
several days.
What is the treatment for giardiasis?
Several prescription drugs are available to treat Giardia.
How can I prevent giardiasis?
- Wash hands with soap and water after using the toilet and before handling
food.
- Avoid water or food that may be contaminated.
- Wash and peel all raw vegetables and fruits before eating.
- Avoid drinking water from lakes, rivers, springs, ponds, or streams unless
it has been filtered or chemically treated.
- During community-wide outbreaks caused by contaminated drinking water,
boil drinking water for 1 minute to kill the Giardia parasite and make the
water safe to drink.
- When traveling in countries where the water supply may be unsafe, avoid
drinking unboiled tap water and avoid uncooked foods washed with unboiled tap
water. Bottled or canned carbonated beverages, seltzers, or pasteurized fruit
drinks, and steaming hot coffee and tea are safe to drink. You should check
the label on bottled water to make sure it has been properly filtered before
drinking.
- If you work in a child care center where you change diapers, be sure to
wash your hands thoroughly with plenty of soap and warm water after every
diaper change, even if you wear gloves.
- Avoid swimming in pools if you or your child has Giardia. Giardia cysts
are fairly chlorine resistant and are passed in the stools of infected people
for several weeks after they no longer have symptoms.
My water comes from a well; should I have my well water tested?
Consider having your well water tested if you answer yes to the following
questions:
1. Are other members of your family or users of your well water ill?
If yes, your well may be the source of infection.
2. Is your well located at the bottom of a hill or is it considered
shallow? If so, runoff from rain or flood water may be draining directly
into your well causing contamination.
3. Is your well in a rural area where animals graze? Well water can
become fecally contaminated if animal waste seepage contaminates the ground
water. This can occur if your well has cracked casings, is poorly constructed or
is too shallow.
Tests specifically for Giardia are expensive, difficult, and usually
require hundreds of gallons of water to be pumped through a filter. If you
answered yes to the above questions, consider testing your well for fecal
coliforms instead of Giardia. Although fecal coliform tests do not specifically
test for Giardia, testing will show if your well has fecal contamination. If it
does, the water is likely to be contaminated with Giardia, as well as other
harmful bacteria and viruses. Look in your local telephone directory for a
laboratory or cooperative extension that offers water testing.
My child was recently diagnosed as having giardiasis, but does not have any
diarrhea. My health care provider says treatment is not necessary. Is this
true?
In general, the answer supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics is
that treatment is not necessary. However, there are a few exceptions. If your
child does not have diarrhea, but is having nausea, or is fatigued, losing
weight, or has a poor appetite, you and your health care provider may wish to
consider treatment. If your child attends a day care center where an outbreak is
continuing to occur despite efforts to control it, screening and treatment of
children without obvious symptoms may be a good idea. The same is true if
several family members are ill, or if a family member is pregnant and therefore
not able to take the most effective anti-Giardia medications.
For more information:
1. Addiss DG, Juranek DD, Spencer HC. Treatment of children with
asymptomatic and nondiarrheal Giardia infection. ; Pediatr Infect Dis J
1991;10:843-6.
2. Addiss DG, Davis JP, Roberts JM, Mast EE. Epidemiology of
giardiasis in Wisconsin. Increasing incidence of reported cases and unexplained
seasonal trends. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1992;47:13-9.
3. Bartlett AV, Englander SJ, Jarvis BA, Ludwig L, Carlson JF,
Topping JP. Controlled trial of Giardia lamblia: Control strategies in day care
centers. Am J Public Health 1991;81:1001-6.
4. Kreuter AK, Del Bene VE, Amstey MS. Giardiasis in pregnancy.
Am J Obstet Gynecol 1981;40:895-901.
5. Lengerich EJ, Addiss DG, Juranek DD. Severe giardiasis in the
United States. Clin Infect Dis 1994; 18:760-3.
6. Steketee RW, Reid S, Cheng T, et al. Recurrent outbreaks of
giardiasis in a child day care center, Wisconsin. Am J Public Health
1989;79:485-90.
This fact sheet is for information only and is not meant to be used for
self-diagnosis or as a substitute for consultation with a health care provider.
If you have any questions about the disease described above or think that you
may have a parasitic infection, consult a health care provider.
This information provided from:
Division of Parasitic Diseases
National Center for Infectious Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
NCID Home Page
DPD Home Page
URL:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/giardias.htm
Updated: 09/15/98 16:15:44
Return to Zoonotic
Disease Page
URL: http://www.ehs.wsu.edu/acp/giardia.asp
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