Molecular characterization of Giardia duodenalis and evidence for cross-species transmission in Northern Argentina

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Sahana Kuthyar, Emory University; Martin M. Kowalewski, Emory University; Matthew Seabolt, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dawn M. Roellig, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Thomas Gillespie, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-07-13
• Publisher: WILEY
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2021 Wiley‐VCH GmbH
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/tbed.14220
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
• Volume: 69
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 2209
• End Page: 2218
• Grant/Funding Information: Funding was provided by Emory University, National Geographic Society, and the Fulbright Scholars Program. The authors are grateful to R. Martinez, M. Sanchez, A. Godoy, S. Gennuso, M. Raño, B. Natalini, and R.E. Alegre for assisting in the collection of fecal samples and the collection of human demographic and health data. The authors thank the entire team at the Estación Biológica de Corrientes (CONICET), the Parque Provincial de San Cayetano, the Dirección de Recursos Naturales, and the Dirección de Parques y Reservas de la Provincia de Corrientes for logistical support and permission to conduct this investigation. The authors thank L. Ragazzo and J. Deere for assistance with laboratory and statistical analyses.
• Keywords: one health; GENOTYPES; BLACK; Science & Technology; Veterinary Sciences; INFECTIONS; ASSEMBLAGE; zoonosis; IDENTIFICATION; EPIDEMIOLOGY; MONKEYS ALOUATTA-CARAYA; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; primates; WILDLIFE; Infectious Diseases; CRYPTOSPORIDIUM; DOGS; alouatta

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities, such as human population expansion and land-use change, create ecological overlap between humans, domesticated animals, and wildlife and can exacerbate the zoonotic transmission of parasites. To improve our understanding of this dynamic, we employed multi-locus genotyping to conduct a cross-sectional study of the potential for zoonotic transmission of the protozoan parasite Giardia duodenalis among humans, household associated livestock and dogs, and black and gold howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) in the Corrientes Province of Argentina. We found Giardia prevalence to be highest in howler monkeys (90.3% (47/52)), followed by humans (61.1% (22/36)), dogs (44.4% (16/36)), and cattle (41.9% (18/43)). We further established that howler monkeys exclusively harbored strains of assemblage B (100%) while humans were infected with either assemblage A (13.3%) or B (80%) or A and B (6.7%), and cattle and dogs were infected with either assemblage A (cattle, 94.1%; dogs, 80%)), A and C (10%), or their host-adapted assemblage (cattle, 5.9%; dogs, 10%). Our finding of G. duodenalis in both humans and domesticated animals (assemblage A) and humans and wild primates (assemblage B) suggests that cross-species transmission of multiple assemblages of G. duodenalis may occur in rural complexes such as northern Argentina where people, domesticated animals, and wildlife overlap. We further highlight the need to investigate the implications of these results for human health, the economics of livestock production, and wildlife conservation in this and similar systems.