Culture in vitro of Giardia Trophozoites from the Rabbit and Chinchilla

Abstract

Giardia may well rank among the earliest described intestinal protozoa. Dobell¹ contends that these were the organisms that Leeuwenhoek in 1681 described from his own faeces. Giardia may cause intestinal disease in man. The presence of large numbers of these organisms in the small intestine is often associated with a syndrome that includes diarrhoea, epigastric pain and loss of appetite. Oral administration of atabrine usually results in the prompt disappearance of the symptoms and of the organisms. Giardia are also thought to be a cause of enteritis in chinchillas².