Evaluation and comparison of Giardia Lamblia with molecular methods and microscopic methods

Giardia lamblia is a prevalent parasitic organism that often infects humans, leading to a protracted duration of nonbacterial diarrhea. Disease outbreaks resulting from this parasite are often ascribed to the contamination of food and water sources. The use of microscope analysis on stool samples obtained over a span of many days may not provide definitive confirmation of the illness caused by this particular parasite. The lower sensitivity could be because cysts or trophozoites are released at random, or because stool samples are analyzed by people who aren't trained to do so. Alternative techniques, such as jejunal biopsy and duodenal aspirate examination, provide more favorable outcomes; nevertheless, their practicality is limited due to their invasive nature. PCR detection is more sensitive than microscopic inspection, thereby making it more advantageous for detecting tiny quantities of cysts in stool samples. The PCR technique has been used to selectively amplify Giardia DNA by targeting certain genes for amplification. This cross-sectional study included 50 patients under 10 years of age of both genders who suffered from fatty diarrhea based on physicin diagnosis and symptoms and were admitted to the Al-Tawfiq hospital. All demographic data were obtained from each patient, including age, gender, and habitation. The stool sample of about 20 g was collected using a sterile plastic container and distributed into two parts. The first portion of 10 g of stool was used for wet mount microscopic in the amount of 5 g and the concentration method in the amount of 5 g, the second portion of 10 g of stool was stored and divided into 5 g for preservation in 70% ethanol and 5 g for preservation in 2.5% potassium dichromate in deep freezing at −20°C for molecular diagnosis. The test was carried out by taking the quantities we would use from these. Based on the patient population's demographic profile, the age of the patients ranged from 1 to 10 years, and the number of males was higher at 32 (64%) than females at 18 (36%). In addition, the patients from the rural habit were 29 (58%) higher in number than the patients from the urban habit, 21 (42%). Among 50 stool samples obtained from all patients during the current study, only 8 (16%) of samples were (slide and concentration) positive for G. lamblia infection, while 42 (84%) were negative (slide and concentration), according to microscopic examination. 44 (88%) of the samples were positive (70% ethanol) for G. lamblia infection, while 6 (12%) were negative, according to the polymerase chain reaction diagnosis. There were no statistically significant differences (with 70% ethanol) among patients according to age, gender, and habitation (p-value 0.608, 0.303, and 0.255, respectively) with respect to microscopic examination (slide and concentration). In contrast, there were statistically significant differences among patients according to age and gender (p-value 0.008 and 0.057, respectively), while there were statistically significant differences among patients according to habitation (p-value 0.499) with respect to molecular examination (slide and concentration). Furthermore, the number of positive samples that were preserved within 70% ethanol was high (44) when compared with samples that were preserved within 2.5% potassium dichromate (43). Additionally, this parasite was more common in children and was more common in men than in women. Additionally, a significant proportion of patients were found to come from rural areas as opposed to metropolitan areas. In conclusion; this pathogen was successfully recovered from the fecal samples of individuals diagnosed with Giardiasis, highlighting the potential advantages of PCR over traditional diagnostic techniques like microscopy.