Occurrence of Giardia in Different Water Sources in District Bannu

Background: After air, water is one of the greatest significant essentials for life, which is considered as one of the nutrients. Giardia lamblia (G. lamblia) is one of the most common waterborne protozoan parasites, causing diarrheal disease in human beings and animal diseases throughout the world.
Material and Methods: A total of 150 containing 1.5 L from each water samples were collected from different water sources of district Bannu from 1st May, 2012 to 30th April, 2013 and for further process the samples were brought to the Department of Zoology Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat within 24 hours. Water samples containing different water sources (Tap water, Bore water, Stream water and Pond water) in seven different areas of District Bannu (Pakistan). The water was filtered through Whattman filter paper No. 42 having 2.5µm pore size and the residue was subjected to Microscopy, DNA extraction and PCR was conducted for detection of G. lamblia. To increase the sensitivity of the test a small region (125-bp) of the SSU rRNA was targeted for the PCR amplification.
Results: The overall prevalence of G. lamblia in drinking water of district Bannu was 20% microscopically, including 28.33% in Stream water, 12.5% in Tap water, 20% in Tap water and was absent in Bore water. While that of PCR based study the overall prevalence of parasite (G. lamblia) was 24%, including Stream 28.33%, Tap water, 20%, Pond water 26.66% and Bore water 15 %. The highest prevalence of G. lamblia was 25% recorded in Tap water of Basia Khel through microscopic study & that of PCR based study, the highest prevalence was recorded in the Stream water of Bannu City which was 37.5% and P<.05 was considered significant.
Conclusion: It was revealed from the current study that G. lamblia is present in water sources in some areas in district Bannu, which may be due to flooding and improper management of water scheme. The study recommended that a proper treatment of water for human consumption is required, especially in Bannu City and Basia Khel in district Bannu.