Clinical and epidemiological aspects of giardiasis in children

The purpose of the study. To study the seroprevalence of Giardia lamblia among the pediatric population in the Astrakhan region in 2019–2022, associated with certain determinants such as age, regional prevalence, the presence or absence of clinical manifestations and risk factors, and analyze the effectiveness and adequacy of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Materials and methods. Over 2019–2022, six thousand eight hundred fifty episodes of parasitic infections were registered in the Astrakhan region, of which 95.1%, or 6,523 cases, accounted for children. Giardiasis accounted for 19.6% (1,240 cases) of all parasitic infections, while children accounted for 82.8% (1,109 cases). The results of the study. In the Astrakhan region, giardiasis is characterized by the same prevalence in urban and rural areas. In the majority of cases, patients complained of various clinical symptoms and signs characteristic of this disease (87.2 (967 cases)), on the basis of which giardiasis was suspected and further examination of the child was carried out. When collecting the epidanamnesis, it was found that 90.4% of children (1002 cases) said that they did not follow personal hygiene well. In addition, onychophagia (48.6% (539 cases)), geophagia (37.9% (420 cases)), and close contact with animals (including pets) was detected in more than half of all cases — 76.8% or 852 cases. Research limitations. The limiting factors in the study are the epidemiological maps of children infected with lamblia. Conclusions. During the study period, giardiasis was more often found among school-age children in the Astrakhan region. The clinical picture was most often dominated by pain in the epigastric region, complaints of decreased appetite and diarrhea. In all cases, giardiasis was diagnosed based on laboratory confirmation of the presence of cysts.