Abstract
Giardia is the most common protozoan cause of diarrhoeal illness in humans worldwide. Despite this, our understanding of the zoonotic transmission of Giardia, and in particular the role of cattle as a zoonotic reservoir, is not well understood, due to the limitations of current typing systems and a recent taxonomic revision of the genus. Newly improved multilocus sequencing typing tools are not yet widely used and are not applicable to all species. However, data generated to date suggest that zoonotic transmission of Giardia of bovine origin is limited. Carefully designed epidemiological investigations using improved typing tools are essential to understand the extent of zoonotic transmission from cattle. Improved on-farm biosecurity measures are also needed to control the transmission of zoonotic Giardia in cattle.
