Wildlife Damage Management, Internet Center for
Date of this Version
12-3-1985
Abstract
The Giardia lamblia (Lambl) protozoan is not a recently discovered parasite. It was. in fact, one of the first organisms viewed and described by Antony van Leeuwenhoek (1681) as he designed the first usable microscope. Leeuwenhoek found this organism in a sample of his own diarrhetic stool and thus he constitutes the first confirmed case of human giar- His finding represents proof of glardiasis! close association with man for many years. LecuwenhoeW discovery of the giardial trophozotte was not elaborated on for some 178 years, however, as it was not until 1859 that Wilhelm D. Jambi systematically described the organism as being a distinct genus of protozoan parasite (Kunio 1966). Unfortunately Lambl made little mention of guardian' medical significance and the giaridal protozoan was not accurately recognized as a major health concern until late in the twentieth century.