1
|
Šmigová J, Šnábel V, Cavallero S, Šmiga Ľ, Šoltys J, Papaj J, Papajová I. Neglected Diseases—Parasitic Infections among Slovakian Children from Different Populations and Genotypes of Giardia duodenalis. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10020381. [PMID: 35208836 PMCID: PMC8880538 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10020381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Children are most prone to parasitic infections. The objectives of the study were to examine the occurrence of parasitic infections in children from different populations and to perform molecular characterization of human Giardia duodenalis isolates. We examined 631 stool samples from Roma and non-Roma children for the presence of parasitic developmental stages. Samples were collected from three eastern Slovakia districts. The ages of the children ranged from 1 months to 17 years. Subsequently, the molecular characterization of human G. duodenalis isolates by PCR detected triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) and beta-giardin (bg) genes was performed. The overall prevalence of parasitic infection was 19.8%. Ascaris lumbricoides eggs were the most frequent, with an occurrence of about 13.8%. G. duodenalis cysts were present in 6.3% of samples. G. duodenalis isolates obtained from 13 children were subjected to DNA sequencing with tpi and bg genes. Five isolates were categorized as bearing subassemblage BIII, the three isolates as subassemblage BIV, one person was infected with a mixture of subassemblages BIII and BIV, four children had subassemblage AII, and one isolate revealed a structure corresponding with subassemblage AI. Our work is proof that poverty and poor hygiene contribute the most to public health problems associated with neglected parasitic diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Júlia Šmigová
- Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hlinkova 3, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia; (J.Š.); (V.Š.); (J.Š.)
| | - Viliam Šnábel
- Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hlinkova 3, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia; (J.Š.); (V.Š.); (J.Š.)
| | - Serena Cavallero
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy;
| | - Ľubomír Šmiga
- Department of Breeding and Diseases of Game, Fish and Bees, Ecology and Cynology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, Komenského 73, 041 81 Košice, Slovakia;
| | - Jindřich Šoltys
- Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hlinkova 3, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia; (J.Š.); (V.Š.); (J.Š.)
| | - Ján Papaj
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Technical University in Košice, Letná 1/9, 042 00 Košice, Slovakia;
| | - Ingrid Papajová
- Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hlinkova 3, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia; (J.Š.); (V.Š.); (J.Š.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +421-55-6331411
| |
Collapse
|