Insights into Non–Outbreak-Related Giardiasis

Among patients with early diagnosis, 34% suffered both gastrointestinal and extraintestinal symptoms; among those with delayed diagnosis, diarrhea was often intermittent.

Giardia is a common cause of diarrheal illness in the U.S., with approximately 20,000 cases reported to the CDC between 2006 and 2008. To better understand non–outbreak-related giardiasis, researchers examined data from a risk factor study conducted in Colorado and Minnesota in 2003 and 2004 by the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network and the CDC. In that study, 213 patients who were enrolled <42 days after symptom onset were included in the risk-factor (RF) arm; 77 who were enrolled later (reflecting delayed diagnosis) were included in the delayed-enrollment (DE) arm.

Compared with participants in the RF arm, those in the DE arm had a longer duration of symptoms (median, 42 vs. 15 days; P<0.0001), waited longer between symptom ons…

Reviewing Author

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)