Occurrence and molecular epidemiology of Giardia duodenalis infection in dog populations in eastern Spain.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Giardia duodenalis is one of the most common enteric parasites in domestic animals including dogs. Young animals are more prone to the infection, with clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic to acute or chronic diarrhoea. Dogs are primarily infected by canine-specific (C-D) assemblages of G. duodenalis. However, zoonotic assemblages A and B have been increasingly documented in canine isolates, raising the question of whether and to which extent dogs can act as natural reservoirs of human giardiosis.

Methods

In this cross-sectional epidemiological survey we assessed the molecular diversity of G. duodenalis in dogs in the province of Castellón, Eastern Spain. A total of 348 individual faecal samples from sheltered (n = 218), breeding (n = 24), hunting (n =

SUBMITTER: Adell-Aledon M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5778629 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature