Prevalence rates of Giardia and Cryptosporidium among diarrheic patients in the Philippines.

The prevalence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium among 3,456 diarrheic patients corrected from May 2004 to May 2005 in the Philippines was determined. Of 133 (3.8%) positive samples, 69 (2.0%) were positive for Giardia and 67 (1.9%) for Cryptosporidium. Three samples had co-infection with Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Luzon had the highest positive samples (5.0%) followed by Mindanao (4.9%), then Visayas (2.2%). Giardia was most prevalent in Mindanao (3.6%) while Cryptosporidium was most prevalent in Luzon (3.1%). The prevalence of Giardia (2.0%) among pediatric patients (0-18 years) did not significantly differ from that (1.9%) among adults (> 18 years old). However, for Cryptosporidium, the prevalence (2.9%) among pediatric patients was significantly higher compared to that (0.2%) among adult patients. In the pediatric population, the highest percentage of patients with Giardia was the 5-9 year old age group, while that of Cryptosporidium was in the 0-4 year old group. The prevalence of Giardia, but not Cryptosporidium, was significantly higher in male than female adults. Seasonality had a distinct peak in September with Cryptosporidium more prevalent in the rainy (2.6%) than dry season (0.9%).