The Assemblage B of Giardia duodenalis is the Most Common Assemblage in Isolates from Southeast of Iran

Objective: To identify genetic assemblages of Giardia duodenalis in human isolates from health centers in the city of Zahedan, Iran.
Methods: The present study included 54 fecal specimens infected with Giardia cysts from symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with giardiasis. The fecal specimens were used to identify the parasite genotypes. Genomic DNA was isolated by using QIAamp DNA Stool Mini Kit. Genotyping of Giardia duodenalis samples was performed by PCR assay by amplification of P21 locus of Giardia.
Results: Our result indicated that genotype B (75.9%) was more prevalent than genotype A (24.1%) as defined by the presence of amplicons at 249 bp and 303 bp for genotypes B and A, respectively. No mixed genotype of A + B was detected in tested samples. Additionally, we observed that the assemblage A was more prevalent in symptomatic patients than in asymptomatic ones.
Conclusions: Our findings revealed that assemblage B was the most common assemblage in isolates examined in Zahedan demonstrating that there is a major non-zoonotic transmission cycle in the area.