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Molecular epidemiology and multilocus sequence analysis of potentially zoonotic Giardia spp. from humans and dogs in Jamaica

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Abstract

Giardia spp. are the causative agents of intestinal infections in a wide variety of mammals including humans and companion animals. Dogs may be reservoirs of zoonotic Giardia spp.; however, the potential for transmission between dogs and humans in Jamaica has not been studied. Conventional PCR was used to screen 285 human and 225 dog stool samples for Giardia targeting the SSU rDNA gene followed by multilocus sequencing of the triosephosphate isomerase (tpi), glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh), and β-giardin (bg) genes. Prevalence of human infections based on PCR was 6.7 % (19/285) and canine infections 19.6 % (44/225). Nested PCR conducted on all 63 positive samples revealed the exclusive presence of assemblage A in both humans and dogs. Sub-assemblage A-II was responsible for 79.0 % (15/19) and 70.5 % (31/44) of the infections in humans and dogs, respectively, while sub-assemblage A-I was identified at a rate of 15.8 % (3/19) and 29.5 % (13/44) in humans and dogs, respectively. The predominance of a single circulating assemblage among both humans and dogs in Jamaica suggests possible zoonotic transmission of Giardia infections.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica

    Mellesia F. Lee & John F. Lindo

  2. Jamaica Veterinary Medical Association, Kingston, Jamaica

    Paul Cadogan & Sarah Eytle

  3. Ministry of Health, Kingston, Jamaica

    Sonia Copeland

  4. Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Center of Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Mellesia F. Lee & Julia Walochnik

Authors
  1. Mellesia F. Lee
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  2. Paul Cadogan
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  3. Sarah Eytle
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  4. Sonia Copeland
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  5. Julia Walochnik
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  6. John F. Lindo
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Correspondence to John F. Lindo.

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The study protocol was approved by the University Hospital of the West Indies/University of the West Indies/Faculty of Medical Sciences (UHWI/UWI/FMS) Ethics Committee (Ethics no. ECP 266, 13/14). It was conducted according to NIH, guidelines, ISO15189 standards for medical laboratories, and the Austrian Gene Technology Law. Moreover, the safety regulations by international standards and the European Community for working with biologically and chemically hazardous material were strictly adhered to.

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Lee, M.F., Cadogan, P., Eytle, S. et al. Molecular epidemiology and multilocus sequence analysis of potentially zoonotic Giardia spp. from humans and dogs in Jamaica. Parasitol Res 116, 409–414 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5304-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5304-y

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