frequency and molecular detection of giardia intestinalis in children attending pediatrics of punjab, pakistan

Background: giardia intestinalis is the most common protozoan infecting the small intestine of human beings and a major cause of enteric infection, especially in children throughout the world. it is a highly diverse protozoan, which comprises a complex of eight genetic assemblages that are further differentiated into sub-assemblages. objectives: a cross-sectional study was conducted to detect the frequency, molecular detection and assemblage identification of g. intestinalis in children of punjab, pakistan. methods: a total of 800 stool samples were collected from children ranging 0 - 10 years of age with gastrointestinal disturbances and subjected to direct microscopy, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and polymerase chain reaction targeting small-subunit ribosomal rna (ssu rrna) and triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) genes. a predesigned questionnaire was filled prior to sampling from the guardian of each child to collect information. results: the results indicated that the prevalence of 9.5% (76/800) was achieved by microscopy, elisa and pcr targeting ssu-rrna gene. the genetic dna from 69 out of 76 (90.80%) was successfully amplified by tpi gene. among these tpi gene-positive samples, 38 were successfully typed in assemblage b (55.07%) followed by 20 (28.98%) in assemblage a and 11 (15.94%) in mixed type assemblages (a & b). residency and socioeconomic status were statistically associated with giardiasis. among the clinical presentations, abdominal pain is prominent in assemblage b (57.89%) and vomiting in assemblage a (40%) type infections. conclusions: advanced molecular tools for giardiasis are well-adapted to get true prevalence, better discrimination of assemblages and their correlation with clinical signs.