Here, we report a case of direct zoonotic transmission of giardiasis between a pet chinchilla and a human. Microscopic and molecular examinations of stool samples from a child and samples of chinchilla droppings revealed cysts/DNA of Giardia intestinalis. The transmission from the chinchilla to the child has been confirmed as coprophagous after the 1-year-old toddler ingested pet chinchilla droppings. Molecular analysis of the gdh gene from both hosts classified the G. intestinalis cysts into the assemblage B genetic group, which has been previously shown to be characteristic of both human and chinchilla giardiasis. Both Giardia sub-assemblages BIII and BIV were present in the chinchilla droppings, whereas only the sub-assemblage BIV was isolated from the child's stool sample. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a true zoonotic transmission of giardiasis, supporting the zoonotic potential of assemblage B.

AGEL Laboratories Clinical Microbiology Laboratory Šternberk Czech Republic

Department of Epidemiology Public Health Authority of Olomouc Region Olomouc Czech Republic

Institute of Immunology and Microbiology 1st Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Private Healthcare Šternberk Czech Republic

Private Veterinarian Troubelice Czech Republic

References provided by Crossref.org

Genetic characterizations of Cryptosporidium spp. from pet rodents indicate high zoonotic potential of pathogens from chinchillas

Clone-based haplotyping of Giardia intestinalis assemblage B human isolates