Identification of Giardia lamblia Assemblage E in Humans Points to a New Anthropozoonotic Cycle

J Infect Dis. 2016 Oct 15;214(8):1256-9. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiw361. Epub 2016 Aug 10.

Abstract

Giardia lamblia is a pathogen transmitted by water and food that causes infection worldwide. Giardia genotypes are classified into 8 assemblages (A-H). Assemblages A and B are detected in humans, but they are potentially zoonotic because they infect other mammalian hosts. Giardia in samples from 44 children was genotyped. Conserved fragments of the genes encoding β-giardin and glutamate dehydrogenase were sequenced and their alignment were carried out with sequences deposited in GenBank. As expected for Rio de Janeiro, the majority of samples were related to assemblage A. Surprisingly, assemblage E was detected in 15 samples. Detection of assemblage E in humans suggests a new zoonotic route of Giardia transmission.

Keywords: Giardia lamblia; assemblage E; molecular characterization; β-giardin gene.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Child, Preschool
  • DNA, Protozoan / genetics
  • Genotype
  • Giardia lamblia / genetics*
  • Giardiasis / parasitology
  • Glutamate Dehydrogenase / genetics
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Phylogeny
  • Protozoan Proteins / genetics*
  • Sequence Alignment

Substances

  • DNA, Protozoan
  • Protozoan Proteins
  • Glutamate Dehydrogenase