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Giardia assemblage A: human genotype in muskoxen in the Canadian Arctic

Susan J Kutz1 email, RC Andrew Thompson2 email, Lydden Polley3 email, Kami Kandola4 email, John Nagy5 email, Caroline M Wielinga2 email and Brett T Elkin1,5 email

Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for the Molecular Epidemiology of Parasitic Infections, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia

Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Health Protection and Promotion Office, Stanton Territorial Health Authority. P.O. Box 10, Yellowknife, NT, Canada

Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, NT, Canada

author email corresponding author email

Parasites & Vectors 2008, 1:32doi:10.1186/1756-3305-1-32

Published: 22 September 2008

Abstract

As part of an ongoing program assessing the biodiversity and impacts of parasites in Arctic ungulates we examined 72 fecal samples from muskoxen on Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada for Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Cryptosporidium spp. were not detected, but 21% of the samples were positive for Giardia. Sequencing of four isolates of Giardia demonstrated G. duodenalis, Assemblage A, a zoonotic genotype.


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