From the Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Abstract: (3523 Views)
Giardia, a protozoan parasite, resides in the small intestine in man. This parasite
damages the mucosal intestinal surface and in severe cases produces malabsorption
and it may also affect mineral absorption, especially zinc.
In this study a total of 118 infested and 43 non-infested persons as a control
group were selected. From each patient a 5 ml blood sample was obtained. The serum
was separated and zinc measured by atomic absorption method.
The results show mean serum zinc level in the infested group to be 75.364
microgram percent with the standard deviation of 19.433 while in the healthy control
group it was 97.707 ± 28.258 Comparsion between the two sexes indicated that in
male subjects mean zinc content was 73.832 and 75.755 in the female group.