Darren-
There aren't good statistics about the prevalence of Giardia and Taenia
worldwide or for that matter in developing countries, because Giardia is
not a reportable infection. The number of Giardia infections posted at Dr.
Smith's website for N. America (141) is too low IMO; we get this many or
more in Indiana alone. This doesn't give me confidence that the other
numbers Dr. Smith provides, are more than a guess.
Taenia is a concern in Latin America and much of Africa, especially where
tender "measly" meat (larval cysticercus-rich) is sometimes eaten
undercooked, leading to migration and multiple cysts in human tissues
including the CNS, which is much more dangerous than the adult gut-dwelling
tapeworm. Nonetheless, even in poor countries like Madagascar and Ecuador,
this condition seemed to be very rare.
Jerry
At 05:14 PM 11/9/98 -0500, Robert S. Lewis wrote:
>shaw at lewsun.md.ucl.ac.be wrote:
>> I have been asked to give a 1 hour lecture on macroparasitic diseases
>> to a bunch of third year medics - so i was going to scare them with
>> estimates of the number of people infected with various parasites -
>> (they have heard of malaria but that is about it). i have managed to
>> get rough estimates for most of the important parasites, but i cannot
>> find even a guestimate of how many people are thought
>> to be infected world wide with giardia, and how many infected with
>> taenia spp
>>>> has anybody got even a guess - we are not talking to the nearest 10
>> people, i.e. for schistosomes i am saying 200 million
>>>> many thanks
>>>> Darren
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Dr Darren J Shaw
>> Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED),
>> Ecole de Sante Publique, UCL, 30.34 Clos Chapelle-aux-Champs,
>> 1200 Brussels, Belgium
>>Hello!
> The information that you need should be found at
>http://martin.parasitology.mcgill.ca/JIMSPAGE/WORLDOF.HTM. Statistics of
parasitic infections by continent is given. This page is managed by James
Smith, PhD, at McGill University, Quebec.
>>Bob Lewis
>>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gerald McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Dept Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
635 Barnhill Drive, MS A128
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E-mail: gmclaugh at iupui.edu
