Table 1.
Prevalence of Giardia intestinalis in humans reported in North African countries
| Giardia prevalence (%) | Population size | Study population | Study period | Age range of study population (years) | Diagnostic method(s) used | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria (Algiers) | 4.7 | 2,054 | Inpatients and outpatients | September 2012–October 2013 | 1 to ≤ 90 | Direct microscopy and formol-ether concentration technique | Present study |
| Algeria (Oran) | 3.6 | 1,042 | Patients with digestive disorders | December 2010–November 2011 | ≤ 80 | Direct wet mount and formol-ether concentration technique | Ref. 24 |
| Algeria (Boufarik) | 41.67 | 542 | Sporadic cases | March–October 2011 | ≤ 75 | Direct microscopy examination and iodine staining | Ref. 44 |
| Egypt | 38 | 185 | Outpatients with a variety of gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal symptoms | Not stated | 2–58 | Microscopic examination after centrifugation associated with iodine staining and immunoassay (ELISA) | Ref. 43 |
| Egypt | 8.5 | 200 | Mentally handicapped individuals | December 2012–November 2013 | < 10 to ≥ 20 | Trichrome staining (without concentration) | Ref. 28 |
| Egypt | 3.8 | 346 | Municipality solid-waste workers | January and April 2013 | 21–59 | Formol-ether concentration technique | Ref. 48 |
| Egypt | 24.2 | 330 | Individuals with or without symptoms | January 2010–January 2011 | All ages | Direct wet smear method, Sheather’s sugar flotation, acid ether sedimentation technique, and lugol staining | Ref. 49 |
| Libya | 1.3 | 305 | Individuals with diarrhea | October 2011 –July 2012 | Not specified | Direct microscopy under normal saline, iodine, and eosin stains, and four concentration methods (formalin-ether, normal saline sedimentation, zinc sulfate, and Sheather's sugar flotation) | Ref. 26 |
| Libya | 26.3 | 505 | Children with diarrhea | September 2013–June 2014 | 2–17 | Immunofluorescence assay including DAPI* | Ref. 29 |
| Libya | 1.3 | 239 | Children with diarrhea | February 2008–October 2008 | ≤ 5 | Enzyme-immunoassays (EIAs) | Ref. 50 |
| Tunisia (Sfax) | 48 | 3,025 | Hospitalized patients in pediatric services | December 1980–November 1990 | ≤ 10 | Direct microscopy under physiological water and lugol, and formol-ether concentration technique and Willis technique with MIF† | Ref. 22 |
| Tunisia | 1.48 | 20,033 | Not stated | January 1996–December 2012 | Not stated | Direct microscopy, formol-ether concentration technique, and Baermann method | Ref. 51 |
| Morocco (Settat) | 11.7 | 333 | Individuals using raw sewage waters in agriculture | Not stated | 3–60 | Direct microscopy, concentration technique of Bailenger | Ref. 52 |
| Morocco (Beni- Mellal) | 34.3 | 1,343 | Children | January–March 1999 | ≤ 12 | Direct microscopy and formol-ether concentration technique | Ref. 53 |
| Morocco (Center of health El Idrissi, Kenitra) | 22.7 | 4,285 | Population living in Kenitra and suburbs | 1996–2005 | < 18 and ≥ 18 | Direct microscopy and lugol staining | Ref. 25 |
| Morocco (Tetouan) | 19.8 | 673 | Children (urban and rural) | May 2012–June 2013 | 5–14 | Lugol staining, Faust’s and Ritchie’s concentration methods, and molecular analysis | Ref. 30 |
*
DAPI = 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole fluorescent stain.
†
MIF = merthiolate-iodo-formol stain.