Giardiasis in children and dogs from the same household and from the suburbs of Lages, southern Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To determine the giardiasis prevalence and the association between infection in children and dogs sharing the same household in six neighborhoods located in the suburbs of Lages, southern Brazil. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 105 children and 105 dogs living in the same household. The children, aged between zero and 12 years, were attended in health centers accredited with the Family Health Team Program in six neighborhoods from July to November 2005. Stool samples were processed using the zinc sulfate flotation centrifugation method. The data were analyzed by Pearson’s chi-square test (2) with a 5% significance level. Results: The giardiasis prevalence was 20% (21) for the children and 18% (19) for the dogs. The concordance of positive test results between children and dogs amounted to 18% (19) (χ2 = 10.86 and p=0.00098). Regarding the children’s ages (χ2 =2.64 and p=0.7552) and according to the logistic regression (p=0.684), the percentage of positive/negative children remained unchanged. The odds ratio shows that a child living in a household with Giardia-positive dogs is 5.5 times more likely to be infected than a child who lives under the same roof with Giardia-negative dogs. Conclusion: A high prevalence of Giardia was found among the investigated children and dogs. Dogs must be submitted to parasitological tests on a routine basis and treated so that they do not infect other dogs, or family members.