Occurrence of Giardiasis and serum albumin concentration among the food staff in Bandarabbas

Giardiasis has a close relation with improper sanitation, consumption of contaminated water and foods and might be lead to malabsorption syndrome and nutritional deficiency. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the occurrence of giardiasis among the food staff in Bandarabbas and also to determine the concentration of serum albumin in infected individuals. In a cross-sectional study which was conducted in a 6 months period, a total of 11080 fecal samples of the food staff rerrered to the Research Center of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, was examined. Then, 30 Giardia-positive together with 30 Giardia-negative individuals were chosen for further investigation. At this step, the concentration of serum albumin were evaluated in both groups. According to the results, 30 (0.27%) of the samples were positive for Giardia lamblia. The level of serum albumin in infected and healthy people were determined at 46.8 g/l and 53.9 g/l, respectively. Moreover, 66% of the fecal samples had normal condensation and 76% were intensively contaminated. Results revealed that 90% of the infected cases were male, urban and vegetable consumers. In addition, the age of 66% of the cases was between 20 to 30. The concentration of serum albumin in patients with giardiasis was significantly (p< 0.05) lower than the control group which might be related to malabsorption. Based on results, the consumption of raw vegetable seems to play an important role in transmission of Giardia infection. In addition, high occurrence of intensively contaminated patients together with the high rate of the individuals without clinical manifestations, reveals the Giardia hidden carriers. Regarding the occurrence of giardiasis among the food staff and considering the importance of their role in public health, the necessity for hygienic measures are reemphasized.