The Risk of Infection from Giardia lamblia due to Drinking Water Supply, Use of Water, and Latrines among Preschool Children in Rural Lesotho

Esrey S A (Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore MD 21205, USA), Collett J, Miliotis M D, Koornhof H J and Makhale P. The risk of infection from Giardia lamblia due to drinking water supply, use of water and latrines among preschool children in rural Lesotho. International Journal of Epidemiology 1989, 18: 248–253. Stool samples were collected from 267 rural, preschool children in four districts in Lesotho during October– November, 1984. Sixty-three children (23.6%) were tested positive for Giardia lamblia, the most commonly recovered parasite from stool samples. The use of low amounts of water for personal hygiene was associated significantly with having G. lamblia (OR = 2.42), but the use of traditional, non-improved drinking water sources (OR = 1.38) or lack of latrines (OR = 0.94) was not. Although G. lamblia may be primarily waterborne in developed countries, the amount of water that is used for personal and domestic hygiene may be more important than the quality of drinking water in developing countries. Other risk factors that were identified to be associated significantly with having or not having Giardia were child older than 24 months (OR = 6.79), mother less than 20 years of age (OR = 5.18), residing in Mohales Hoek district (OR = 2.33), and possessing several agricultural tools (OR = 0.70).