Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Jul 12:24:217.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.2016.24.217.8012. eCollection 2016.

Giardia lamblia infections in children in Ghana

Isaac Anim-Baidoo  1 , Charles Akugbey Narh  2 , Dora Oddei  2 , Charles Addoquaye Brown  1 , Christabel Enweronu-Laryea  3 , Betty Bandoh  2 , Eric Sampane-Donkor  4 , George Armah  2 , Andrew Anthony Adjei  5 , David Nana Adjei  1 , Patrick Ferdinand Ayeh-Kumi  1 , Ben Adu Gyan  2
Affiliations

Giardia lamblia infections in children in Ghana

Isaac Anim-Baidoo et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

Introduction: Though giardiasis is an important public health problem in Ghana, several aspects of its epidemiology, particularly the molecular epidemiology has not been investigated adequately. This could be a major hindrance to effective surveillance and control of giardiasis in the country. The study was carried out to determine the prevalence, risk factors and genotypes of Giardia lamblia infecting children at a paediatric hospital in Ghana.

Methods: A total of 485 patients including 365 diarrhoea and 120 non-diarrhoea children were enrolled into the study. Stool samples were collected and analysed for parasite presence using microscopy, ELISA and PCR. Positive samples were subsequently characterized into assemblages by PCR-RFLP, and further confirmed with sequencing of the glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) gene. Epidemiological data on demographic, clinical and behavioral features of the study subjects were also collected.

Results: Prevalence of G. lamblia infections in diarrhoea and non-diarrhoea children were 5.8% and 5% respectively (P>0.5). Sequence data confirmed Giardia lamblia assemblage B as the predominant genotype in both diarrhoea and non-diarrhoea cases. There was no significant association of G. lamblia infection with any of the epidemiological variables investigated.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that assemblage B could be the predominant genotype causing giardiasis in children. Increased public health education focusing on good sanitary practices, particularly among mothers and children, could decrease the risk of G. lamblia infection.

Keywords: Ghana; Giardia lamblia; assemblage B; diarrhoea.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PCR amplification of 490bp fragment of the GDH gene of Giardia lamblia. Lane 1=100bp ladder, lane 2- 10= samples, lane 11= positive control and lane 12= negative control
Figure 2
Figure 2
RFLP of Giardia lamblia after digestion with NIaIV. Lane 1=100-bp ladder, lanes 2- 6 = samples and lane 7= negative control. Two products, 150 and 290bp were obtained for all samples
Figure 3
Figure 3
Phylogenetic clustering of Giardia lamblia isolates with reference orthologs
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Thompson RC. Giardiasis as a re-emerging infectious disease and its zoonotic potential. Int J Parasitol. 2000;30(12-13):1259–1267. - PubMed
    1. Mohammed MAK, Lim YA, Surin J, Wan KL, Al-Mekhlafi MS. Risk factors for endemic giardiasis: highlighting the possible association of contaminated water and food. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2008;102(5):465–470. - PubMed
    1. Sackey ME, Weigel MM, Armijos RX. Predictors and nutritional consequences of intestinal parasitic infections in rural Ecuadorian children. J Trop Pediatr. 2003;49(1):17–23. - PubMed
    1. Isaac-Renton JL, Lewis LF, Ong CS, Nulsen MF. A second community outbreak of waterborne giardiasis in Canada and serological investigation of patients. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1994;88(4):395–399. - PubMed
    1. Hoque ME, Hope VT, Kjellström T, Scragg R, Lay-Yee R. Risk of giardiasis in Aucklanders: a case-control study. Int J Infect Dis. 2002;6(3):191–197. - PubMed

MeSH terms