Giardia may be the most common intestinal parasite in the US and one of the most common worldwide, but did you know it was only in the last 40 years that it was officially recognized as a human pathogen?! In today’s episode, we’ll travel back to a time before humans knew microbes even existed to discover alongside Leeuwenhoek a whole new world of animalcules like giardia. We’ll find out how seeing these critters for the first time changed everything and how long it has taken to recognize their impact on the globe. Plus, we’ll tell you all about how giardia gives you such bad poops.
| History | Biology |
| Snyder, Laura J. Eye of the beholder: Johannes Vermeer, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, and the reinvention of seeing. WW Norton & Company, 2015. | Certad, Gabriela, et al. “Pathogenic mechanisms of Cryptosporidium and Giardia.” Trends in parasitology 33.7 (2017): 561-576. |
| Salzman, James. Drinking Water: A History (Revised Edition). Abrams, 2017. | Cotton, James A., Jennifer K. Beatty, and Andre G. Buret. “Host parasite interactions and pathophysiology in Giardia infections.” International journal for parasitology 41.9 (2011): 925-933. |
| Lipoldová M (2014) Giardia and Vilém Dušan Lambl. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 8(5): e2686. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002686 | Feng, Yaoyu, and Lihua Xiao. “Zoonotic potential and molecular epidemiology of Giardia species and giardiasis.” Clinical microbiology reviews 24.1 (2011): 110-140. |
| Fantham, H. B., and Annie Porter. “The pathogenicity of Giardia (lamblia) intestinalis to men and to experimental animals.” British medical journal 2.2900 (1916): 139. | Thompson, RC Andrew. “The zoonotic significance and molecular epidemiology of Giardia and giardiasis.” Veterinary parasitology 126.1-2 (2004): 15-35. |
| Bartelt LA, Sartor RB. Advances in understanding Giardia: determinants and mechanisms of chronic sequelae. F1000Prime Rep. 2015;7:62. Published 2015 May 26. doi:10.12703/P7-62 | Serradell, Marianela C., et al. “Vaccination of domestic animals with a novel oral vaccine prevents Giardia infections, alleviates signs of giardiasis and reduces transmission to humans.” NPJ vaccines 1 (2016): 16018. |
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