To date, genotyping data on giardiasis has not been available in the Czech Republic. In this study, we characterised 47 human isolates of Giardia intestinalis from symptomatic as well as asymptomatic giardiasis cases.
Genomic DNA from trophozoites was tested by PCR-sequence analysis at three loci (β-giardin, glutamate dehydrogenase, and triose phosphate isomerase). Sequence analysis showed assemblages A and B in 41 (87.2%) and 6 (12.8%) isolates, respectively.
Two of the 41 assemblage A samples were genotyped as sub-assemblage AI, and 39 were genotyped as sub-assemblage AII. Four previously identified multilocus genotypes (MLGs: AI-1, AII-1, AII-4 and AII-9) and six likely novel variations of MLGs were found.
In agreement with previous studies, sequences from assemblage B isolates were characterised by larger genetic variability and by the presence of heterogeneous positions, which prevent the definition of MLGs. This study also investigated whether there was a relationship between the assemblage and clinical data (mainly drug resistance).
However, due to the large number of genotypes and the relatively small number of samples, no significant correlations with the clinical data were found.