Abstract

The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Giardia lamblia infection among the population of Maysan Governorate attending Al-Sadr General Teaching Hospital. The study had a total of 11,208 participants, of whom 280 (23.17%) were classified as uninfected, and 928 (76.82%) were classified as infected. The prevalence of the parasite was influenced by numerous factors including gender, as found in the present study: infection rate was greater in males (77.04%) compared to females (76.49%). The highest infection rate was observed in the age range of 3-5 years (92.18%) and the lowest infection rate (57.14%) was observed in the age group of children below the age of three years. Regarding residential area, the infection rate was greater in rural areas (78.82%) than in urban areas (74.55%). Season also played a varying influence. Highest infection rate was found in July (92.73%), followed by June (90.87%) and May (80%). Conversely, the lowest rates were observed in February, March, and April, at 67.26%, 55.68%, and 60.47%, respectively. It can therefore be concluded that gender, residential area, time of year, and age all have a clear impact on the prevalence of Giardia lamblia infection.