Dr. Kassai Tibor szerk.: Parasitologia Hungarica 2. (Budapest, 1969)
diseases. Since it occurs mainly among preschool children , causing an inflammation in the upper region of the small intestine that may last from 2 to 3 years, it is a significant condition in this age group . With these facts in mind we attempted to remedy the impairment of vitamin A metabolism caused by giardiasis. More detailed and elaborate experiments are needed to elucidate the mechanism (probably enzymic) by which infestation disturbs vitamin A metabolism. One reason why our work cannot be compared with clinical findings is that the children involved in our study were considered healthy by their physician. The change in vitamin A status cannot be attributed to an adequate hospitalisation diet as has been claimed by PALUMBO et al. (20) for we made no alterations whatsoever in the usual everyday diet of the state homes. Fortunately a number of well-known scientists (l, 6, 7, 18, 21, 28, 31) have carried out extremely valuable work on the-meta,bolism of vitamin A, and most of the metabolic steps are known. ROELS (22) expresses surprise that although an adult person's yearly vitamin A requirement costs no more than 5 US cents, the fight against vitamin A deficiency presents such a great problem all over the world. With people suffering from giardiasis an even greater amount would not suffice to bring the low vitamin A status back to normal, even with large doses of vitamin A supplement. Since MAKARA (12) estimates that there are approximately 300 million people in the world who are suffering from giar diasis this should be considered a universal problem. Of the 300 million infected persons 1 million live in Hungary. Most of them are under 6 years of age.As our investigations have shown, in our country these people receive vitamin A in vain, for whether it is in its natural form,or given therapeutically they cannot utilize it. According to ROELS' s calculations (22), to supply 1 million person with vitamin A costs 50.000 dollars per year. Each year this sum would be spent to not effect as far as the vitamin supply of the population is concerned.
