Giardiasis is one of the most common intestinal protozoan infections worldwide. The
etiological agent, Giardia duodenalis (syn. Giardia lamblia, Giardia intestinalis), is a
flagellated, binucleated protozoan parasite which infects a wide array of mammalian hosts
(Adam, 2001). The symptoms of giardiasis include abdominal cramps, nausea, and acute or
chronic diarrhea, with malabsorption and failure of children to thrive occurring in both sub-
clinical and symptomatic disease (Thompson et al., 1993). Infections are transmitted by cysts …