What are the symptoms of giardiasis?

Giardiasis is an intestinal infection caused by the parasite Giardia duodenalis, which can lead to a range of symptoms affecting the gastrointestinal system and overall well-being.

Diarrhea, weight loss, abdominal cramps, and failure to thrive are common clinical manifestations of giardiasis, with children often experiencing more severe symptoms such as dyspepsia and pain .
Symptoms can persist long-term, with fatigue and abdominal symptoms reported even years after the initial infection, suggesting that giardiasis can have chronic effects .
Giardiasis may lead to malabsorption of nutrients, evidenced by steatorrhea, hypogammaglobulinemia, and deficiencies in vitamin B12, folate, and carotene, indicating that the parasite can cause significant damage to the small intestinal mucosa.
Atypical symptoms such as various dermatoses, allergic syndromes, and chronic fatigue syndrome have been associated with giardiasis, highlighting the diverse clinical impact of the infection .
The infection can disrupt small intestinal barrier function, which is independent of T cell response and involves reorganization of cytoskeletal F-actin and tight junctional ZO-1 in an MLCK-dependent manner.

In conclusion, giardiasis presents with a spectrum of symptoms ranging from gastrointestinal disturbances like diarrhea and abdominal cramps to systemic effects such as weight loss, fatigue, and atypical manifestations including dermatoses and allergic reactions. The infection can cause both acute and chronic health issues, with some individuals experiencing long-term sequelae that impact their quality of life. The parasite's impact on nutrient absorption and intestinal barrier function further complicates the clinical picture, making giardiasis a potentially serious condition that requires attention for proper management and treatment.

What are the symptoms of giardiasis?

Summary

Sources and full results

Giardiasis--why do the symptoms sometimes never stop?

Prolonged symptoms of giardiasis can significantly impact quality of life, particularly in developing countries, due to re-infection, treatment failure, gut disturbances, and post-infection syndromes.

Giardiasis: clinical spectrum and functional--structural abnormalities of the small intestinal mucosa.

Giardiasis causes brush border damage in the small intestinal mucosa, which is usually reversible with eradication of the parasite, but other factors may contribute to cell damage beyond brush border injury.

Intestinal infection with Giardia spp. reduces epithelial barrier function in a myosin light chain kinase-dependent fashion.

Giardia infection increases small intestinal permeability through reorganization of cytoskeletal F-actin and tight junctional ZO-1, which is T cell independent and disappears upon parasite clearance.

Post-infectious gastrointestinal symptoms after acute Giardiasis. A 1-year follow-up in general practice.

Persistent gastrointestinal symptoms are a common complication after giardiasis in a population previously unexposed to G. lamblia, highlighting the need for further investigation of the mechanism involved.

High rate of fatigue and abdominal symptoms 2 years after an outbreak of giardiasis.

A high rate of fatigue and abdominal symptoms were reported 2 years after an outbreak of giardiasis in Norway, with increasing age as a significant risk factor for fatigue.

Review article: the management of Giardiasis

Giardiasis is a common intestinal infection caused by the human parasite Giardia intestinalis, with metronidazole being the mainstay of treatment.

Clinical symptoms of giardia infection in children

Giardia lamblia infection in children is characterized by nonspecific symptoms such as pain, dyspepsia, asthenic neurosis, and allergic dermatosis, with worse clinical symptoms in older age groups and organic digestive pathology.

Giardia intestinalis - atypical symptoms of infection in the daily practice of various specialists

Giardia intestinalis infection can cause a variety of atypical symptoms, including dermatoses, allergic reactions, polyneuropathy, and malabsorption syndromes.

Giardiasis-associated arthralgia in children.

Arthralgia associated with giardiasis in children is a rare, relatively benign, and non-sequelar condition that disappears after treatment with metronidazole.

Giardiasis--a simple diagnosis that is often delayed.

Giardiasis can cause various gastroenterological symptoms, and diagnosis is often delayed, with nitroamidazole treatment effectively relieving symptoms in 78% of patients.

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