Giardia intestinalis assemblages among egyptian symptomatic children : prevalence and seasonal distribution in Cairo, Egypt

Abstract EN

Giardia intestinalis is one the commonest enteric intestinal protozoan pathogens worldwide, notorious for its seasonal prevalence and wide age span of population infected G.

intestinalis causes diarrhea in humans, especially in children.

The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and genetic diversity of G.

intestinalis isolated from Egyptian symptomatic children.

A total of 176 faecal samples of children, from Aboul-Reesh Pediatrics Hospital, Cairo.

Direct wet mount and formalin-ether sedimentation techniques were applied for microscopic determination of Giardia infection in faecal samples.

DNA was extracted from positive stool samples and amplified by nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) using specific primers of G.

intestinalis Trios Phosphate Isomerase (TPI) gene.

Assemblages were determined using sequence analysis of the TPI gene .Out of the 176 samples, G.

intestinalis was detected in 33 (18.75%) and 24 (13.63%) cases using Coproscopy and nPCR, respectively.

There was a significant predominance of assemblage B (20 cases [83.33%]) versus assemblage A (4 cases [16.66%]) In this study, molecular analysis revealed that assemblages A and B are the most common types with a predominance of assemblage B.

These findings suggest that anthroponotic transmission could be a dominant transmission route for giardiasis in Egypt.