The doctor told about the symptoms of giardiasis infection

Infection with giardia may be indicated by a feeling of bitterness in the mouth, bloating of the intestines and pain in various parts of the abdomen. This was announced on March 6 by Mikhail Lebedev, a leading expert, head of the scientific and information support group for medical institutions of the Center for Molecular Diagnostics at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, in an interview with "The newspaper.Ru".

"The patient may also experience increased fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, pallor of the skin, irritability, and sleep rhythm disturbances. When giardia die, their decay products are absorbed from the intestine, causing various forms of allergic reactions: skin itching, urticaria, atopic dermatitis, etc. In some cases, giardiasis is asymptomatic (especially in adults). In this case, the disease is often detected by chance, after laboratory tests," he added.

The specialist recalled that giardia are the simplest single—celled microscopic organisms that parasitize in the intestines of humans and some animals. Despite the variety of types of giardia, only one of them called "intestinal giardia" can cause the disease in humans. It can include such types of organisms as Giardia duodenalis, Giardia lamblia and Giardia intestinalis.

"Giardiasis is widespread everywhere, mainly in countries with humid warm climates, unfavorable hygienic conditions and a low level of sanitary culture. About 150 thousand cases of the disease are registered annually in Russia, most of the cases are children under 14 years of age. Imported cases of giardiasis are often reported in people vacationing in exotic countries with poor drinking water quality," the doctor warned.

In case of infection, the disease can be cured by using antiparasitic drugs. However, a healthcare professional can only diagnose and prescribe appropriate treatment after a laboratory diagnosis of the patient.

On March 5, general practitioner Elena Aleksentseva рассказала about the symptoms and diagnosis of meningitis. Meningitis is distinguished from acute respiratory viral infections or influenza by a characteristic rash, but it is this rash that misleads incompetent medical professionals who confuse it with chickenpox rashes.