An Outbreak of Foodborne Giardiasis

Abstract

GIARDIA LAMBLIA is recognized as an important cause of acute illness in human beings. Community-wide waterborne outbreaks of giardiasis have been documented with increasing frequency, 1 2 3 4 5 and backpackers have become ill after drinking water from mountain streams.6 , 7 Giardiasis has also occurred among travelers to foreign countries, although the methods of transmission in these situations are not clear.8 9 10 Person-to-person transmission has been demonstrated in mental institutions, 11 12 13 in day-care centers, 14 , 15 and among male homosexuals.16 17 18 To our knowledge, fecally contaminated food has not been documented to be a vehicle for the transmission of giardiasis, even though the fecal-oral route of transmission has been well . . .