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Giardiasis among children in the City of Logan, South East Queensland
Author(s) -
BOREHAM PETER F. L.,
DONDEY JOANNE,
WALKER ROBYN
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1754.1981.tb01941.x
Subject(s) - medicine , sewerage , septic tank , giardia , infection rate , prevalence , veterinary medicine , south east , socioeconomic status , environmental health , demography , surgery , geography , environmental engineering , population , physical geography , sociology , engineering
. A random survey of children under 11 years was undertaken to determine the prevalence of Giardia intestinalis in two areas of the City of Logan, South East Queensland. Parasitological examination of single stool samples showed that in Shailer Park, where 81% of the houses have septic tanks, the prevalence rate was 5.7%, with 9.8% of households having children passing cysts. At Rochedale where 98% of the houses are connected to the mains sewerage the corresponding figures were 2.0% and 3.1%. Most if not all the infections were acquired locally. No correlations were found between the prevalence of G. intestinalis and the sex or age of the children, symptoms of diarrhoea or socioeconomic conditions. Clustering of cases was demonstrated in one part of Shailer Park but no point source of infection was demonstrated. One possible explanation for the higher prevalence rate at Shailer Park is that children become infected with cysts found in run‐off from septic effluents which accumulate in gardens and gutters.