First case of community acquired giardiasis in Nuuk, Greenland

We report a case of community acquired giardiasis, in Nuuk, Greenland. Likely source of infection being consumption of untreated water from a local reservoir, alternatively through contact with sewage. Giardia is widespread worldwide but has not commonly been considered a cause of gastrointestinal d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International Journal of Circumpolar Health
Main Authors: Astrid Thomas, Heidi L Enemark, Peter Mogens Poulsen, Michael Lynge Pedersen
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2021
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2021.1954363
https://doaj.org/article/1cd4df5d6c33495497d5ab282fb11502
Description
Summary:We report a case of community acquired giardiasis, in Nuuk, Greenland. Likely source of infection being consumption of untreated water from a local reservoir, alternatively through contact with sewage. Giardia is widespread worldwide but has not commonly been considered a cause of gastrointestinal distress in patients in Greenland, without relevant travel history. This may be due to under diagnosis, or historically low prevalence of Giardia in the region. Climate change with increasing temperatures, growing tourism and pet travel may influence the presence of Giardia in the region. This case highlights the need to include giardiasis as a differential diagnosis in patients presenting with suspected infectious gastroenteritis in Greenland.