Abstract
BackgroundA number of epidemiological studies have demonstrated Giardia as prevalent in both humans and dogs worldwide and have postulated the occurrence of anthroponotic, zoonotic and animal-specific cycles of transmission, which may be geographically and regionally unique in its epidemiology. The aim of this study was to utilise molecular tools to determine the prevalence and compare genotypes of Giardia duodenalis infecting humans and dogs living in a previously identified Giardia-endemic village in rural Cambodia in order to ascertain zoonotic transmission risk.FindingsThe prevalence of G. duodenalis in humans and dogs was 18.3% (40/218) and 10.6% (10/94) by PCR, respectively. Molecular characterisation of the small subunit of ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene, triose phosphate isomerase (TPI) gene and sub-assemblage characterisation of the glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) gene placed 27.5% (11/40) of Giardia positive humans into assemblage AII and 72.5% (29/40) into assemblage BIII of G. duodenalis. In dogs, 20.0% (2/10) of Giardia-positive samples were characterised as G. duodenalis assemblage BIII, 40.0% (4/10) as assemblage C and 40.0% (4/10) as mix infection between assemblage C and D.ConclusionOverall, just over 2% of dogs harboured potentially zoonotic assemblages of G. duodenalis in the studied communities and hence pose a minimal zoonotic risk for the transmission of Giardia to humans.
Highlights
A number of epidemiological studies have demonstrated Giardia as prevalent in both humans and dogs worldwide and have postulated the occurrence of anthroponotic, zoonotic and animal-specific cycles of transmission, which may be geographically and regionally unique in its epidemiology
The objective of this study was to utilise more sensitive molecular tools to screen for the presence of G. duodenalis in dogs living in the same village and a multilocus genotyping approach to assess the risk for zoonotic transmission
40.0% (4/10) of G. duodenalis positive samples were characterized as assemblage C, 40.0% (4/10) as mix infection between assemblage C and D and 20.0% (2/10) as assemblage BIII (Table 1)
Summary
A number of epidemiological studies have demonstrated Giardia as prevalent in both humans and dogs worldwide and have postulated the occurrence of anthroponotic, zoonotic and animal-specific cycles of transmission, which may be geographically and regionally unique in its epidemiology. The aim of this study was to utilise molecular tools to determine the prevalence and compare genotypes of Giardia duodenalis infecting humans and dogs living in a previously identified Giardia-endemic village in rural Cambodia in order to ascertain zoonotic transmission risk. Dogs are predominantly infected with canid-specific genotypes of G. duodenalis, may harbour potentially zoonotic assemblages AI, AII, BIII and BIV [3]. This ability, combined with a high prevalence of infection in dogs [4] and their close association with humans, has made them a focus of attention as potentially zoonotic sources of G. duodenalis. Documentation of prevalence and genotypes of G. duodenalis in canines and humans is virtually inexistent in many Southeast Asian countries and Cambodia in particular
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