Giardia spp., the most ubiquitous protozoan parasite in Argentina: human, animal and environmental surveys reported in the last 40 years

Abstract

Giardia is a parasite distributed worldwide and one of the most prevalent intestinal protozoa in Argentina. We analysed all the national information regarding the prevalence of Giardia infections in humans, animals and environmental surveys over the last 40 years. In this work, we used Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines and the period between 1980 and 2019 was defined as time lapse for inclusion of the studies. The analysis was conducted using the LILACS, PubMed, Scopus and Argentina SciELO databases employing as keywords 'Giardia' AND 'Argentina'. We also carried out a manual review of papers. Of 304 articles, 92 fitted the eligibility criteria. Giardia was reported in 15 of the 23 Argentine provinces; human prevalence was between 3.4 and 64.8%. Indigenous children and residents in peri-urban areas had the higher infection rates. In animals, Giardia was identified mainly in dogs with a prevalence of 8.9 ± 7.0%, and studies of wild animals and cattle were notably scarce. Environmental studies showed that Giardia was detected in the soil and water which may act as reservoirs for this parasite revealing the need to modify the national water treatment legislation. The identification of Giardia genetic assemblages in the studies analysed was limited and showed that genotypes AII and B were found in humans while assemblage B was mainly detected in animals. This report provides useful information on epidemiological aspects of giardiasis in Argentina that may help to define future research priorities and provides useful tools for professionals regarding actual information on the prevalence of this infection.

Keywords: Argentina; Giardia; Human–animal and environmental health; Prevalence; Public health; Risk factors; Spatial distribution.