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 ß-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.
Subject(s)
Dog Diseases/parasitology , Giardia lamblia/enzymology , Giardiasis/veterinary , Multilocus Sequence Typing , Animals , Cytoskeletal Proteins/genetics , Cytoskeletal Proteins/metabolism , DNA, Ribosomal/genetics , Dog Diseases/epidemiology , Dogs , Gene Expression Regulation/physiology , Giardia/classification , Giardia lamblia/genetics , Giardiasis/epidemiology , Giardiasis/parasitology , Glutamate Dehydrogenase/genetics , Glutamate Dehydrogenase/metabolism , Humans , Jamaica/epidemiology , Molecular Epidemiology , Phylogeny , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Protozoan Proteins/genetics , Protozoan Proteins/metabolism , Triose-Phosphate Isomerase/genetics , Triose-Phosphate Isomerase/metabolism , ZoonosesABSTRACT
Ingested/inhaled environmental lead (Pb) continues to pose a health risk to humans (children in particular) and animals. Automobile emissions from leaded gasoline combustion (less of a problem today with the phasing out of leaded gasoline), lead contaminated foods, soil and water, lead-based paints, ceramics, batteries (more frequently encountered today), and possible electronic waste, remain major sources of environmental lead. In a study carried out in Jamaica, West Indies, blood samples from dogs (n=63 at 5 locations) and goats (n=46 at 4 locations) were collected in lead-free (EDTA) tubes and analyzed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) for lead. The analytical method detection limit was 0.24 μg/dl. Overall (blood lead) PbB concentrations were 2.83 ñ 2.96 μg/dl (dogs), and 1.02 ñ 0:10 μg/dl (goats). There were significant differences among locations, and. in a location of high automobile and plant foliage/grass forage density, PbB levels were 7.03 ñ 2.96 μg/dl (n=8) and 1.91 ñ 0.83 μg/d1 (n=10) in dogs and goats respectively. Although sample sizes are small the results suggest the use of dogs and goats as sentinels for evaluating environmental lead in developing countries.
