Detection of Human Genotype “B” &lt;i&gt;Giardia lamblia&lt;/i&gt; in Ghanaian Cattle from Frafraha in Adentan Municipality of Ghana

G T Mensah,C A Narh,C A Brown,P F Ayeh-Kumi,I O Frempong

doi:10.4314/gjs.v61i1.8

Abstract

Giardia duodenalis is a common intestinal parasite in humans, a wide range of domesticated and wild animals. There are human and animal specific, as well as zoonotic pathogenic genotypes. It is not clear whether livestock in close proximity to humans could be infected with human specific genotypes, and vice versa. In this study, Giardia-positive faecal samples were collected from both humans (n = 4) (from Maamobi Polyclinic in the Ayawaso Sub- Metro) and calves (n = 8) (from Animal Research Institute Farms, Adentan Municipality), in Ghana. Nested PCR amplification using Giardia-specific, Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) genes and Triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) gene primers for human and animal faecal samples respectively was carried out. Results showed that 100% of the calves carried the TPI-B genotype, which is a common pathogenic genotype in humans. This report is based on the unusual results obtained as Giardia duodenalis genotype B is known to occur in humans but is being observed in calves for the first time. This suggests that calves in close proximity to humans could be reservoirs and sources of human Giardia infections.

Highlights

Giardia lamblia has been identified as one of the zoonotic intestinal parasite which causes diarrhoea in children less than five years of age and immuno-compromised adults worldwide, this include those who had undergone organ transplant, undergoing chemotherapy and other health challenges which affect the effectiveness of the immune system (Cook, 1996; Cotton et al, (2015))
The TPII gene catalysis the isomerization of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (G3P) and dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. Mutations in this gene are associated with triosephosphate isomerase deficiency (Feng & Xiao, 2011) Both genes are located on the parasite chromosome and the locations are conserved regions of the genome, this allows the loci to be exploited for the purpose of identifying the parasite (Hopkins et al, 1997) Since the Giardia species are zoonotic, Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) and Triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) primers were used for the study and the objective of this study was to identify the various genotypes in the human and animal faecal samples
Lane M = 100 bp molecular ladder; Lanes 1-3 =human positive controls; Lane 4 = negative control These observations are poorly understood as no study have been able to explain why this happened, (Anim-Baidoo,2013) could not explain these observations he made in an earlier study

Summary

Introduction

Giardia lamblia has been identified as one of the zoonotic intestinal parasite which causes diarrhoea in children less than five years of age and immuno-compromised adults worldwide, this include those who had undergone organ transplant, undergoing chemotherapy and other health challenges which affect the effectiveness of the immune system (Cook, 1996; Cotton et al, (2015)). It is prevalent in both developed (2 - 5%) and under developed (30%) regions of the world (Craun, 1990).

Objectives

Results

Conclusion