Giardiasis is endemic in all regions of the world. Giardia lamblia (G. lamblia) cysts are spread in Egypt via the fecal-oral route, through ingestion of the cyst with contaminated food or water. The symptoms of giardiasis vary from the asymptomatic passage of cysts to chronic diarrhea, malabsorption and weight loss. Although microscopy has the advantage of low cost and ability to simultaneously...

The occurrence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in indoor swimming pools in the Netherlands was studied at five locations. The backwash water from seven pool filters was analysed for the presence of Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts for a period of 1 year. Of the 153 samples of filter backwash water analysed, 18 (11.8%) were found positive for either Cryptosporidium (4.6%), Giardia (5.9%)...

Giardiosis is one of the most frequent parasites of dogs and cats. Since several years, the treatment is based on the use of metronidazole. A coproscopic study in four dog kennels was conducted to demonstrate, at a significant level, the efficacy of oxfendazole (Dolthène, Merial). At the posology of 11.3 mg/kg each day during three days (D1, D2 and D3), no dogs eliminated Giardia cysts and all ...

The process of encystation is a key step in the Giardia duodenalis life cycle that allows this intestinal protozoan to survive between hosts during person-to-person, animal-to-person, waterborne, or food-borne transmission. The release of cysts from infected persons and animals is the main contributing factor to contamination of the environment. Genes coding for cyst wall proteins (CWPs), which...

Despite the problems associated with analyzing water samples for Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts, the data can be very useful if their strengths and weaknesses are understood. Two municipalities in northern Ontario, Temagami and Thunder Bay, both issued boil water advisories for Giardia contamination. Data from these two cities are compared to show that only one municipality experienc...

The lack of quick, simple, and sensitive quantitative tests has impeded studies on infection patterns and treatment of Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. A quantitative direct immunofluorescence assay (FA) using a commercial FA kit was developed and evaluated. Recovery rates of the FA for Cryptosporidium oocysts in calf feces seeded with 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, and 1,000,000 oocysts per g we...

This study evaluated the prevalence of contamination of water that was used for food preparation. Since protozoal cysts can be found in small numbers in water, 1,000 liters of either untreated or treated water were filtered through activated carbon block filters (1 microm nominal porosity). Identification of protozoa was performed using specific monoclonal antibodies against Giardia and Cryptos...

A survey to estimate the prevalence of Giardia infections was conducted using a commercial Giardia antigen test kit (IDEXX SNAP® Giardia Test; IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., Westbrook, ME) in 1,837 dogs and 462 cats brought to participating clinics in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The overall estimated prevalence of Giardia infection was 9.7% in dogs and 15.6% in cats, and was lowest for animals six ...