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Prevalence of Giardia duodenalis genetic assemblages isolated from dogs and cats in Poland

Dawid Jańczak

Dawid Jańczak

Department of Infectious and Invasive Diseases and Veterinary Administration, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Biological and Veterinary Sciences, Nicolaus Copernicus UniversityToruń, Poland
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Jańczak, Dawid
, 
Jakub Olszewski

Jakub Olszewski

Animallab Veterinary LaboratoryWarsaw, Poland
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Olszewski, Jakub
, 
Aleksandra Kornelia Maj

Aleksandra Kornelia Maj

Animallab Veterinary LaboratoryWarsaw, Poland
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Maj, Aleksandra Kornelia
, 
Piotr Górecki

Piotr Górecki

Animallab Veterinary LaboratoryWarsaw, Poland
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Górecki, Piotr
, 
Magdalena Nowak

Magdalena Nowak

Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health Protection, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGWWarsaw, Poland
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Nowak, Magdalena
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Olga Szaluś-Jordanow

Olga Szaluś-Jordanow

Department of Small Animal Diseases with Clinic, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGWWarsaw, Poland
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Szaluś-Jordanow, Olga
  
Aug 28, 2025
Prevalence of Giardia duodenalis genetic assemblages isolated from dogs and cats in Poland's Cover Image
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Published Online: Aug 28, 2025
Received: Jan 14, 2025
Accepted: Jul 28, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jvetres-2025-0043
Keywords
© 2025 Dawid Jańczak et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Introduction

Giardia duodenalis (syn. G. intestinalis and G. lamblia) is a protozoan intestinal parasite that infects various vertebrates. Genetic analyses of G. duodenalis have identified eight genetic assemblages (groups), designated A–H. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of G. duodenalis in household dogs and cats in Poland, analyse isolates by assemblage and relate assemblage results to zoonotic potential.

Material and Methods

From January to February 2024, 1,937 faecal samples from dogs and 1,077 samples from cats were examined microscopically for G. duodenalis cysts using the zinc flotation method. Positive samples were retained for further molecular tests. Genetic analysis was performed on the basis of the β-giardin locus which is 511 base pairs long. The obtained sequences were compared with reference sequences in the GenBank database.

Results

Giardia duodenalis cysts were detected in 11.3% (219/1,937) of dogs and 7.06% (76/1,077) of cats using the zinc flotation method. Assemblages B, C, D and F were identified in 11, 77, 126 and 5 dogs, respectively. All isolates from cats were identified as assemblage F.

Conclusion

The high rate of infection in pets increases the risk of transmission of zoonotic Giardia genetic assemblages to humans.
Language:
English
Publication timeframe:
4 times per year
Journal Subjects:
Life Sciences, Molecular Biology, Microbiology and Virology, Life Sciences, other, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine
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