Survey of Giardiasis Symptoms in Patients Referred to Health Care Centers in Zahedan, South-Eastern Iran, 2017-2018

There are many pathogenic intestinal parasites in humans, one of which is Giardia lamblia. This parasite has a variety of clinical symptoms in individuals. Poor health, weather conditions, and inappropriate lifestyle are all factors contributing to the high incidence of giardiasis.

Based on factors influencing the prevalence of giardiasis in the region, this study was performed on subjects referred to Zahedan health care centers.

A total of 671 stool specimens of subjects who referred between March 2017 and October 2018 were examined using direct and formalin ether concentration techniques. All demographic and clinical data in questionnaires were recorded. Data were analyzed using X2 test to determine any differences in the prevalence of giardiasis and clinical symptoms between different age groups.

Of 671 samples, 346 (51.1%) were positive. The most common complaint among participants was abdominal pain (64.1%), followed by diarrhea (53.7%), abdominal cramps (44.7%), nausea (32.6%), weight loss (30.9%), anorexia (26.8%), headache (22.2%), fatigue (14.1%), and fever (13.2%). Most of the clinical symptoms such as abdominal pain, abdominal cramp, weight loss, and headache were reported in females, and the results of chi-square test showed a significant difference (P<0.05). The age group of 1-12 years had the highest percentage of infection (49.42%). The data indicated that the highest rate of infection was observed in this group, showing a significant difference in comparison with other age groups (P<0.05).

The results of this study showed that in addition to health education, preventing the transmission of parasites to children would also be necessary.