Prevalence of Giardia intestinalis in domestic dogs in Warsaw

Introduction. Giardia intestinalis is the most common intestinal protozoan parasite, which infects humans, dogs and other mammals throughout the world. So far eight genotypes of the parasite have been described of which four were found in dogs. Assemblages A-I and B infect either dogs or humans. Assemblages C and D occur only in dogs. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and genotypes of G. intestinalis in domestic dogs of Warsaw area. Material and methods. From October 2005 to March 2006 fecal samples were collected from 350 dogs and examined using light microscopy and PCR techniques. Results. 5.14% of dogs was found to be positive for G. intestinalis by microscopy and prevalence of 9.14% was found by PCR. The PCR amplicons were sequenced and the DNA sequences were compared with Giardia sequences in GeneBank database. The analysis revealed assemblage A-I in 1.71% of dogs, assemblage C in 1.14% and assemblage D in 6.28% of dogs in Warsaw. According to literature, the genotype A can infect humans however a role of dogs as a reservoir of human giardiosis in Poland is not known