Giardiasis

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Parasitic infection due to Giardia lamblia can produce severe, disabling gastrointestinal symptoms. Outbreaks have been linked to contaminated municipal water supplies and situations involving person-to-person contact. Immunocompromised patients are especially at risk. Because microscopic examination of stool detects the parasite in only about half of infected patients, use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect Giardia-specific antigen is becoming increasingly popular. In most patients, therapy with quinacrine (Atabrine) hydrochloride, metronidazole (Flagyl, Protostat), or a combination of the two is effective.