AUTHOR=Tangtrongsup Sahatchai , Sripakdee Duanghatai , Malaivijitnond Suchinda , Angkuratipakorn Rungroj , Lappin Michael 

TITLE=Intestinal Parasites and the Occurrence of Zoonotic Giardia duodenalis Genotype in Captive Gibbons at Krabokkoo Wildlife Breeding Center, Thailand

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2019.00110

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2019.00110

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p>Intestinal parasitic infections can have an impact on health and growth of wildlife. The current study aims were to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites and to molecular characterize <italic>Giardia duodenalis</italic> and <italic>Cryptosporidium</italic> spp. in captive gibbons at Krabokkoo Wildlife Breeding Center, Thailand. Fifty-five gibbons, 2 agile- (<italic>Hylobates agilis</italic>), 38 lar- (<italic>Hylobates lar</italic>) and 15 pileated gibbons (<italic>Hylobates pileatus</italic>) were included in this study. Fecal samples were collected individually at Krabokkoo Wildlife Breeding Center, Chachoengsao province, eastern Thailand, in November 2013. Intestinal parasitic infections were examined by zinc sulfate centrifugation flotation and by a commercially available immunofluorescent assay (IFA) for detection of <italic>G. duodenalis</italic> and <italic>Cryptosporidium</italic> spp.. Polymerase chain reaction targeting the <italic>Giardia</italic> glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh), beta- giardin (bg), triose phosphate isomerase (tpi) genes, and the <italic>Cryptosporidium</italic> small subunit-rRNA and heat-shock protein (hsp70) following by DNA sequencing were performed on the IFA positive samples. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection in gibbons at Krabokkoo Wildlife Breeding Center was 12.7% (95%CI: 5.3–24.5), <italic>Strongyloides</italic> spp. eggs or larvae were present in all positive samples. Co-infections with <italic>G. duodenalis</italic> were detected in 1.8% (95%CI: 0.1–9.7) of the samples. Based on the sequencing results of the three genes, the IFA <italic>Giardia</italic> positive isolate typed as the zoonotic genotype B. Since the data reveals the occurrence of zoonotic <italic>Giardia</italic> genotype, good hygiene management is suggested to prevent the transmission of this pathogen from gibbon to human, and vice versa.</p>