First genotyping of <i>Giardia lamblia</i> from human and animal feces in Argentina, South America

The purpose of this study was to investigate the genotypes of <i>Giardia lamblia</i> from human and animal feces and their epidemiological and clinical characteristics in Argentina, South America. Seventy isolates, 60 from humans (adults and children), eight from dogs and two from cows w...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Minvielle, Marta Cecilia, Molina, Nora Beatriz, Polverino, Daniela, Basualdo Farjat, Juan Ángel
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2008
Country:Argentina
Institution:Universidad Nacional de La Plata
Repository:SEDICI (UNLP)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:sedici.unlp.edu.ar:10915/37461
Online Access:http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/37461
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Ciencias Médicas
Argentina
genotype
protozoal DNA
triosephosphate isomerase
Giardia lamblia
enzymology
South America
genetics
parasitology
Description
Summary:The purpose of this study was to investigate the genotypes of <i>Giardia lamblia</i> from human and animal feces and their epidemiological and clinical characteristics in Argentina, South America. Seventy isolates, 60 from humans (adults and children), eight from dogs and two from cows were processed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Data corresponding to demographic, socio-cultural and environmental variables and presence/absence of signs/symptoms were collected. The triosephosphate isomerase gene was amplified from 43 (71.66%) of the 60 human fecal samples. Among these, 3/43 (6.98%) were genotype AII and 40/43 (93.02%) were genotype B. Assemblage AII was detected in three children who lived together in a shantytown and they were oligosymptomatic and none had diarrhea. This genotype was not found in animals. Genotype B showed a high prevalence in both adults and children. It was also found in polysymptomatic people, many of whom presented diarrhea. It was also found only in one dog. The present study represents the first contribution to the knowledge of <i>G. lamblia</i> genotypes in Argentina.