Incidence and Molecular Detection of Genotypes for Giardia lamblia Isolated From Children in Zakho District, Duhok Province, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

<i>Giardia lamblia</i> is a significant intestinal protozoan in humans worldwide, with a high incidence of infection in developing countries, particularly among children. Molecular analysis has identified eight assemblages (A to H), with A and B more frequently associated with human infections. Regardless of its importance, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first molecular study on assemblages in <i>Giardia lamblia</i> adopted in the Zakho district, province of Duhok, Iraq. The present study aimed to determine the giardiasis infection rate and identify the assemblages of <i>Giardia lamblia</i> in children from four areas in the Zakho district. We collected fecal samples and conducted a microscopic examination. Genomic DNA was extracted, and assemblage identification was done via amplification of the <i>gdh</i> gene using a semi-nested polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Out of 31 <i>Giardia</i>-positive samples, 23 were successfully amplified through semi-nested PCR. Nineteen isolates (82.60%) were assigned to assemblage B, and four (17.40%) to assemblage A. Assemblage B was identified as belonging to sub-assemblages B11 and B1V, while assemblage A was identified as sub-assemblages A1 and A11. This study provides insights about <i>Giardia lamblia</i> assemblages in the Zakho district, Duhok province, Iraq, and may serve as a beginning step toward understanding the molecular characterization of <i>Giardia</i> in the studied area.