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Abstract Giardia lamblia is a widely distributed flagellated protozoan parasite that inhabits the small intestine . It is the most prominent human protzoal enteropathogen with a prevalence rate that varies from 2% to 5% in the industrialized world and 20 % to 30% in the developing world. Giardiasis is more prevalent in infancy and childhood. Diagnosis of giardiasis is largely dependent on microscopic demonstration of the parasite in the stool, which yields many false negatives due to intermittent excretion of Giardia lamblia . Another reliable methods of diagnosis are duodenal aspiration and intestinal biopsy but they are invasive and uncomfortable techniques . So, some other diagnostic techniques were introduced and were studied regarding to their value in diagnosis but these studies were not fulfilled up till now especially regarding to their value as methods in cure assessment . The aim of this work is to find a relationship between giardiasis and malnutrition. A cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted during May 2010 to March 2011 on 100patient aged from 2-15 years collected from the outpatient clinic of Sohag General Hospital, all data of the study were collected after parents verbal consent. All children were subjected to the following: 1- History taking throughout structured questionnaire including: name, age, sex, residence, father occupation mother education, water supply, sanitary disposal, immunization history and dietetic history. 2- Clinical examination stressing on: anthropometric measurements including weight height and midarm circumference. 3- Laboratory investigations including: complete blood count, serum albumin level and stool analysis for giardiasis. The result of this study showed that the prevelance of giardiasis among 100 studied children in Sohag General Hospital is 8% . In this study regarding the percentage of giardiasis it was slightly higher in children aged 2-5 years 62.5 %. In this study there was a significant difference between infected and non infected cases with giardia as regard to body weight. Mean weight in infected cases is (11.25 kg) compared to (15.44 kg) in non infected children. In this study there was a significant difference between infected and non infected cases with giardia as regard to body height (in age group 2-5 years). Mean height is (86.72 cm) in infected cases compared to (100 cm) in non infected cases. In this study there was no significant difference between infected and non infected cases with giardia as regard to midarm circumference and serum albumin level. |