There are several ways to prevent its spread. First, cysts could be killed by sufficient routine chlorination of water that is adequate to control the transmission of Giardia cysts. The viable cysts that survived chlorination could also be eradicated by either boiling or household water filtration. Furthermore, installation of local water filtration systems is also a necessity in the management, evaluation and treatment of Giardiasis endemic infection as well as other water borne diseases in larger communities.
This step, however, places a significant economic burden due to the costs that would be incurred to ensure safety and water quality (Fauci, et al. , 2008). As an individual, avoidance of water that is suspected to be contaminated like rivers, swimming pools, and rivers should be done. Cooking food well is also an effective way to kill the resistant cysts because they become unstable when heated. Most importantly, the practice of good hygiene would be a very good preventive measure against Giardiasis (Furness, Beach, & Roberts, 2000). Figure 2. The flagellated and binucleated Giardia trophozoites (Fauci, et al.
, 2008). The importance of potable water in the transmission of Giardia should be highlighted because, apparently, factors that contribute to the contamination of water also increase the risk of infection (Chute, Smith, & Baron, 1987). For example, in Mexico where agricultural wastewater irrigation has been practiced, 20% of children subjects ages 1-14 were found to be infected. The high incidence was thought to be because of marginal household practices of storing drinking water in unprotected containers and more importantly, the lack of facilities for feces disposal.
Also, it was found that individuals buying vegetables at the city market have higher rates of infection when compared to those who buy at a village shop. On the other hand, in places where wastewater treatment had been observed, the risk for control and the vulnerable group shows no significant difference (Cifuentes, Gomez, Blumenthal, Tellez-Rojo, Ruiz-Palacios, & Ruiz-Velazco, 2000). This study shows that domestic control is as important as community control with regards to the prevention of transmission of Giardia and lack thereof due to its economic burden would increase the risk of spread and exposure.
Finally, the lack of widespread public health education on the gravity of good household and individual practices in preventing the spread has been implicated in the continuing occurrence of the Giardiasis and other waterborne diseases despite community effort of water treatment (Hedayati, Sadraei, & Ghofranipour, 2008).
References
Black, R. E. , Dykes, A. C. , Sinclair, S. P. , & Wells, J. G. (1977). Giardiasis in day-care centers: evidence of person-to-person transmission. Pediatrics , 60 (4), 486-491. Chute, C. , Smith, R. , & Baron, J. (1987).Risk factors for endemic giardiasis. American Journal of Public Health , 77 (5), 585-597. Cifuentes, E. , Gomez, M. , Blumenthal, U. , Tellez-Rojo, M. , Ruiz-Palacios, G. , & Ruiz-Velazco, S. (2000). Risk factors for Giardia intestinalis infection in agricultural villages practicing wastewater irrigation in Mexico. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene , 62 (3), 388-392. Fauci, A. S. , Braunwald, E. , Kasper, D. L. , Hauser, S. L. , Longo, D. L. , Jameson, J. L. , et al. (Eds. ). (2008). Harrison’s Principle of Internal Medicine (17th ed. ). United States of America.
Furness, B. W. , Beach, M. J. , & Roberts, J. M. (2000). Giardiasis surveillance – United States, 1999 (Surveillance Summary). Center for Disease Control (CDC) , 1-13. Hedayati, A. , Sadraei, J. , & Ghofranipour, F. (2008). Relationship between the rate of giardiasis and knowledge and practice of prevention in primary school children in south of Tehran. Parasitology Research , 104 (1), 169-171. Yoder, J. S. , & Beach, M. J. (2007). Giardiasis Surveillance – United States, 2003-2005 (Surveillance Summaries). Center for Disease Control and Prevention , 56, 11-18.