Changes in the incidence of intestinal giardiosis in Mexican population during five years (2011-2015)

Giardiosis is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Giardia intestinalis, which is distributed worldwide. Most of the data on the prevalence of giardiosis in Mexico comes from research, but it is also necessary to study the data provided by the Mexican Health Ministry and issued by the General Directorate of Epidemiology. The aim of this work was analyse the national surveillance data for human giardiosis in order to update the epidemiological data of this disease in Mexico. A retrospective observational analysis of giardiosis (from January 2011 to December 2015) was performed in the annual reports emitted by the GDE in Mexico. The cases were classified by year, state, age group, gender and seasons of the year. During the period of 2011-2015, a reduction of 38.51% was observed in the total number of new cases of giardiosis reported in the whole country The states of Sinaloa, Yucatan, and Chiapas presented the highest number of new cases reported during the analysed period. Giardiosis rates were always higher among women in all age groups, but the maximum incidence was observed in both sexes in the age group of 1-4 years old (the most susceptible group). On the other hand, the number of cases increased dramatically in southern states during warmer months. Giardiosis is influenced by ambient temperature changes along the year, although this study suggests that tends to decrease in all the analysed states and could be related to the overall improvement of hygienic practices within the Mexican population.