Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the epidemiology of Giardia lamblia infection, investigate factors which might be associated with clinical manifestations and recurrence, and examine the role of copathogens in disease course. METHODS: Prospective 4-year cohort study of children born in an urban slum in north-eastern Brazil. RESULTS: Of 157 children followed for ≥ 3 months, 43 (27.4%) were infected with Giardia. The organism was identified in 8.8% of all stool specimens, and although found with similar frequency in non-diarrhoeal (7.4%) and diarrhoeal stools (9.7%), was more common in children with persistent (20.6%) than acute diarrhoea (7.6%, P = 0.002). Recurrent or relapsing infections were common (46%). Children with symptomatic infections had significantly lower weight-for-age and height-for-age than asymptomatic children. Copathogens were not associated with disease course. CONCLUSION: With its protean clinical manifestations, Giardia may be associated with substantial morbidity amongst children in Brazil.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 624-634 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Tropical Medicine and International Health |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2001 |
Keywords
- Asymptomatic
- Brazil
- Child
- Diarrhoea
- Giardia lamblia
- Malnutrition
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Parasitology
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Infectious Diseases