Prevalence of Giardia lamblia with or without diarrhea in South East, South East Asia and the Far East

Abstract

This article is a review of the latest information on the prevalence of G. lamblia in South Asia, South East Asia and Far East, characterizing the current endemic situation within these regions. Around 33 published papers from 2002-2007 were collected on G. lamblia. The included countries were Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Republic of Korea, and China. Only five published papers were discarded because data was extracted before 2002-2007 or they are not included within our regions, emphasizing more on G. lamblia in animals, or performed at extensive molecular level. The prevalence of G. lamblia varied markedly between studies illustrating higher levels in the urban than in the rural areas, more among poor communities, slightly higher in males than in females with age range of 2-5-year-old children, and among university students, old-aged people, HIV-positive patients, and gastric carcinoma patients. Though G. lamblia is not a life-threatening parasite, nevertheless, it is still considered as the most common water-borne diarrhea-causing disease. It is important to understand the etiology, frequency, and consequences of acute diarrhea in children. Routine surveillance such as bi-annual follow-up treatments, treating G. duodenalis cysts and other protozoa oocysts detected in ground water sources, and continuous health education are the most preventive measures.

Zoonotic Potential and Molecular Epidemiology ofGiardiaSpecies and Giardiasis

“…In various Asian countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam), North America (Cuba, Mexico, and Nicaragua), South America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru), and Africa (northern Africa, west Africa, and South Africa), most of the studies focused on children, and infection rates for G. duodenalis fell into the range of 8% to 30% in the majority of those studies (12,29,56,62,63,65,69,144,160,166,174,184,186,202,203,229,234,237,239,252,253,281). In a few studies, the infection rate was lower than 4% or higher than 30% (65,137,145,230,243,274,280). High infection rates for giardiasis were also reported for adults in developing countries, with rates of 25.1% in pregnant women in Minatitlan, Mexico (224); 11.7% in adults in Settat, Morocco (72); and 5.0 to 14.0% in African refugees and new immigrants in the United States, the Netherlands, and Spain (167).…”

Transmission and Epidemiology of Zoonotic Protozoal Diseases of Companion Animals

“…Giardiasis caused 86% of drinking water-associated outbreaks of illness from 1971 to 2006, and outbreaks of more than 1,000 cases have occurred due to contaminated drinking water (72). In South America, rural areas of India, Southeast Asia, and numerous other areas of the world, the incidence of giardiasis may be much higher, with rates of infection ranging from 6% to more than 50% in children under 12 years of age, with a high risk in low-income populations (73)(74)(75)(76)(77)(78).…”

Diarrhoeal Diseases in Developing Countries: A Situational Analysis

“…29 A recent study in South Asia, South East Asia and Far East found that prevalence of G. lamblia varied markedly between studies illustrating higher levels in the urban than in the rural areas, more among poor communities, slightly higher in males than in females with age range of 2-5-year-old children, and among university students, old-aged people, HIV-positive patients, and gastric carcinoma patients. 30 Prevalence rates of Giardia infection in patients with diarrhoea range from 0.4% to 70%, and asymptomatic cyst passage has been found to be as high as 50% in rural southern India.…”