A survey of the prevalence and genotypes of Giardia duodenalis infecting household and sheltered dogs.
Giardia duodenalis (syn. G. intestinalis, G. lamblia) is an intestinal protozoan parasite that infects humans and a wide range of mammals that includes dogs. Highly significant genetic heterogeneity has been found within this species, while only genotypes from assemblages A and B have zoonotic potential. Although Giardia infection in dogs has been reported worldwide, there is increasing molecular evidence that dogs may be infected with host-specific genotypes (C and D) as well as zoonotic ones (A and B). Therefore, dogs play a role as a potential source of Giardia infection impacting humans and other Canidae. Fecal samples from privately owned dogs and from dogs kept in two shelters in the west-central region of Poland were examined using a microscope and polymerase chain reaction. The total prevalence of Giardia in specimens was 1.9%. Deoxyribonucleic acid was extracted only from two out of the three Giardia-positive fecal samples. After amplification using the G7 and G759 beta-giardin primers, 753 bp amplicons were obtained, and both amplification products were sequenced. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses showed that both G. duodenalis isolates were dog-specific genotypes (C and D).
Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, 10 Fredry Street, 61-701, Poznań, Poland. psolar@amp.edu.pl
Piotr
P
Solarczyk
Anna C
AC
Majewska
D000818:Animals; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005838:Genotype; D016829:Giardia lamblia / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005873:Giardiasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008853:Microscopy; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; C038207:giardin protein, Giardia lamblia