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Guidance

Giardia: guidance and data

The symptoms and epidemiology of giardiasis including travel-associated infections.

Updates to this page

From:
UK Health Security Agency
Published:
1 April 2014
Last updated:
8 April 2026
Show all updates

  1. Added link to 'Gastrointestinal infections and outbreak statistics for England'.

  2. Added new Giardia report and previous report deleted.

  3. Added travel-associated Giardia 2014 report.

  4. Added Giardia data for England and Wales from 2006 to 2015. Deleted text and graphs from epidemiology section.

  5. First published.

Giardia is a parasite which can grow in the intestines of infected humans or animals and cause giardiasis. Diarrhoea is the most common symptom of giardiasis. Other symptoms include abdominal cramps, bloating and flatulence.

More information about giardiasis is available on NHS.UK.

Transmission

Giardiasis can be transmitted by direct contact with infected animals or humans, or by consumption of water, food or beverages contaminated by the faeces of infected animals or humans. People may also be infected by swimming in contaminated water (for example in lakes or rivers). Many cases are associated with foreign travel.

The incubation period, the delay between infection and the appearance of symptoms, is 5 to 25 days.

Epidemiology

Travel-associated infections

Travel-associated Giardia infection: 2014 (PDF, 165 KB, 9 pages)

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