Giardiasis in Children

Abstract

Giardia lamblia belongs to the flagellates. Its name has often been changed; some clinicians still call it Lamblia intestinalis. The parasite can be found in every part of the world. A number of similar species in animals have been described, but it is still a question whether the mouse or the rat can be a host of the type of Giardia found in human beings. The incidence of the parasite was estimated at 12 per cent in the United States by Hegner and at about 10 per cent in Hungary by L\l=o"\rincz.1 The infection is more common among children than among adults.Giardia lamblia has a vegetative and a cystic stage. The vegetative form is pear shaped, about 14 microns in length and 8 microns in diameter, with two symmetric sides. Each side has a nucleus and four free flagella. The axostyle is crossed by a typical parabasal body. The organism adheres to the epithelial cells of the intestine by the aid of a concave peristome. No products of metabolism or foreign corpuscles can be seen in the body of Giardia ; nourishment probably takes place through osmotic processes. Multiplication occurs by binary fission in the long axis. The vegetative form of the organism usually lives in the duodenum or in the upper part of the ileum. The cysts, measuring about 7 by 11 microns, are passed with the feces. The mature form has a thick wall and contains four nuclei and a network system.

Malabsorption in Giardiasis

“…Infection with Giardia may be associated with clinical and/or laboratory features suggestive of malabsorption, the extent of which is variable. This has been observed in children (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22), and in adults (21, 23 -32). Geographically, giardiasis-associated malabsorption in adults has a wider distribution than that associated with tropical sprue (32).…”

Enteritis in a Nursery Home Associated With Giardia Lamblia

“…It is not our purpose here to discuss in detail the vidence for and against the pathogenicity for man of Giardia lamblia. Those wishing for fuller references should consult papers by Lyon and Swalm (1925), Veghelyi (1938), Manson-Bahr (1940), andMcGrath, O'Farrell, andBoland (1940). Opinion is divided between those who regard this organism as a harmless parasite and those who believe that it may give rise to symptoms of disease.…”

Enteritis in a Nursery Home associated with Giardia lamblia

“…Those wishing for fuller references should consult papers by Lyon and Swalm (1925), Veghelyi (1938), Manson-Bahr (1940), andMcGrath, O'Farrell, andBoland (1940). Opinion is divided between those who regard this organism as a harmless parasite and those who believe that it may give rise to symptoms of disease.…”

“…So far as children are concerned one of the most careful of recent studies is that of Veghelyi (1938Veghelyi ( , 1940, who made observations on 92 infected and 92 control children aged 2 to 17 years at the children's clinic, Budapest. He found that in the infected subjects the occurrence of anorexia, headache, dizziness, abdominal pain, irregular bowel movement, and anaemia was much more frequent than in the controls.…”