Endemic giardiasis in New Hampshire: a case-control study of environmental risks.
Giardiasis is the most frequently reported diarrheal disease in northern New England. A case-control study of endemic giardiasis and environmental risk factors among residents of New Hampshire involved 273 cases from the state's 1984 disease registry and 375 controls. Giardiasis was associated with a shallow dug well as a residential water source (odds ratio [OR] = 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-47.0), a recent history of drinking untreated surface water (OR = 3.4; CI, 2.1-5.5), a history of swimming in a lake or pond (OR = 4.6; CI, 2.4-86.0) or swimming in any natural body of fresh water (OR = 4.0; CI, 2.3-70.0), contact with a person thought to have giardiasis (OR = 2.3; CI, 1.4-36.0), and recent contact with a child in day care (OR = 1.5; CI, 1.0-2.1). Multivariate modeling supported these associations. Shallow wells, relatively common in New Hampshire, have not previously been established as important sources of giardiasis.
Dennis
D T
DT
Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO 80522.
Smith
R P
RP
Welch
J J
JJ
Chute
C G
CG
Anderson
B
B
Herndon
J L
JL
von Reyn
C F
CF
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005873:Giardiasis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009513:New Hampshire / Q000453:epidemiology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors