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    J Parasitol. 2002 Oct;88(5):905-9.

    Anthropozoonotic Giardia duodenalis genotype (assemblage) a infections in habitats of free-ranging human-habituated gorillas, Uganda.

    Graczyk TK, Bosco-Nizeyi J, Ssebide B, Thompson RC, Read C, Cranfield MR.

    The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. tgraczyk@jhsph.edu

    To facilitate ecotourism and research, free-ranging mountain gorillas of Uganda have been habituated to humans. Testing of fecal samples of gorillas (n = 100), people sharing gorilla habitats (n = 62). and local pre- and postweaned cattle (n = 50) having access to these habitats with fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated monoclonal antibodies revealed Giardia duodenalis cysts at prevalences of 2, 5, and 10%, respectively. The identification of G. duodenalis was confirmed by fluorescent in situ hybridization with 2 species-specific 18-bp oligonucleotide probes conjugated to hexachlorinated 6-carboxyfluorescein. The mean pathogen concentration was 2.5, 2.8, and 0.2 x 10(4) cysts/g of the gorilla, people, and cattle feces, respectively. All cyst isolates aligned with genotype (assemblage) A, as confirmed by polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing of a 130-bp region near the 5' end of the small subunit-ribosomal RNA gene. A single genotype (assemblage) A recovered from 3 genetically distant but geographically united host groups indicates anthropozoonotic transmission of G. duodenalis. A large percentage of the local community does not follow park regulations regarding the disposal of their fecal waste, as self-reported in a questionnaire. This genotype may have been introduced into gorilla populations through habituation activities and may have then been sustained in their habitats by anthropozoonotic transmission.

    PMID: 12435128 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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