Giardia duodenalis: genotypic comparison between a human and a canine isolates.

INTRODUCTION Evidence suggests that giardiasis is a zoonotic disease. The present work aimed to evaluate the genetic identity of Giardia duodenalis isolated from human and dog fecal samples from Belo Horizonte. METHODS Human and dog fecal samples were cultured for isolation of G. duodenalis. To determine the genotype of the isolates, primers that amplify a specific region in rRNA of the protozoan were used. RESULTS Two G. duodenalis isolates were obtained, which belong to the subgroup A genotype. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the transmission of giardiasis follows a zoonotic pattern.