Evaluation of Molecular Techniques to BiotypeGiardia duodenalisCollected During an Outbreak

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Abstract
Twenty-seven Giardia duodenalis cyst-positive specimens (human, animal, or drinking water) were obtained from a waterborne outbreak in a community in British Columbia, western Canada. Parasite isolates were characterized using molecular techniques at 4 different steps of organism retrieval. None of the drinking water samples (n = 20) infected gerbils and none was successfully amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We were able to genotype 4 of 7 (human and animal) isolates by amplification of DNA from original specimens at the triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) gene locus using PCR followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Five of the original specimens inoculated into Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) were infective and genotyped at the tpi locus using parasite material collected from the gerbil (cysts and trophozoites). Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to biotype trophozoites collected from the gerbils as well as trophozoites from the 4 isolates...