“…Recent literature has focussed on the role of companion animals as providing the greatest risk of zoonotic transmission of G. duodenalis ( Traub et al, 2004;Eligio-Garcia et al, 2005;Itagaki et al, 2005;Lalle et al, 2005). This conclusion has largely been drawn from data showing that G. duodenalis is one of the most common enteric parasites of dogs in both developed as well as disadvantaged communities worldwide (Itoh et al, 2001;PonceMacotela et al, 2005) and that genetically identical, potentially zoonotic genotypes of G. duodenalis (predominantly Assemblage A) may exist in humans and dogs living within the same locality (Ponce-Macotela et al, 2002;Traub et al, 2004;Eligio-Garcia et al, 2005;Lalle et al, 2005) . On the other hand, non-zoonotic or dog-specific cycles of G. duodenalis transmission have also been shown to exist in dogs in communities where it is hypothesised that the frequency of transmission of Giardia among dogs is high (Hopkins et al, 1997;Itagaki et al, 2005;Palmer et al, 2008).…”