Prevalence
"The prevalence of Giardia is high, even when giardiasis often goes undetected. Reasons for this occurrence may include failure to consider it in the differential diagnosis, failure to recognize the organism, use of inappropriate methods for fecal analysis and intermittent excretion of organism in feces of infected animals."
Greene C. Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders, 1998.
Giardia is highly prevalent in dogs: an estimated 6% in the overall population,¹ 36–50% in puppies, and up to 100% in shelters and kennels.¹ Feline prevalence ranges from 1.4% to 11%.² Infection can be symptomatic or asymptomatic, and both forms can transmit infections. Giardia is a health concern for both animals and people.
A Quick Course—Giardia in Dogs and Cats: More Common Than You Think 
"It is in the best interest of the patient and client to quickly identify and treat infection."
Greene C. Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders, 1998.
Clinical Signs
- Most animals remain asymptomatic, but acute small-bowel diarrhea is the most common clinical sign. Small-bowel diarrhea is characterized by liquid to semi-formed feces, a moderately increased frequency of defecation and normal to increased fecal quantity.
- Most infected patients are BAR and afebrile.
- Giardia infections may accompany inflammatory bowel disease.
 Most Giardia goes undetected
If you said "no," don't feel bad. This dog is infected, but is not shedding cysts at the time of sampling. Unless clients bring you three samples from a 3–5-day period, you can't be as accurate as the SNAP® Giardia Test.
Treatment
- Common treatments include metronidazole, fenbendazole or albendazole.
- Treatment failures can occur. Use the SNAP Giardia Test to determine if clinical signs are a result of treatment failure or other co-infection/diseases that may have been present.
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