I also am interested in the transmission of Giardia from animals to
humans. Dr. Dreyer has indicated that little is known or has been
published on this subject. I am most interested in the Giardia from
beavers story. It makes a nice story but it is it true? Hard facts
only---no testimonials please. Finding Giardia in beavers does not mean
that it infects humans.
The potential to prevent/inhibit dog to human transmission of Giardia
is being suggested as an additional benifit (beside protecting the
vaccinated dog) in the marketing of a killed Giardia vaccine for dogs in
the US. Is this scientifically justified? I beleive recent work from
Australia and a study from Sweden (Castor and Linguist. 1990. Canine
giardiosis in Sweden: no evidence of infectivity to man. Trans. Royal
Soc. trop. med. Hyg. 84: 249-250) indicate that it is unlikely for dog
Giardia to be transmissable to humans.
Lets here from the Giardia experts (i.e. people that work with it).
Cheers
