Abstract
Dientamoeba fragilis is a common intestinal parasite in human and animals worldwide. In this study, 609 fecal samples were collected from preschool children in 11 counties in Southern Xinjiang, China. All samples were screened for D. fragilis using PCR targeting SSU rRNA gene, revealing an infection rate of 4.4 % (27/609). Seven of the 11 counties were D. fragilis-positive. The highest infection rate was 15.9 % (10/63) in Yopurga, and the lowest infection rate was 0.9 % (1/109) in Lop. Infection rates in boys and girls were 4.4 % (13/299) and 4.5 % (14/310), respectively. Genetic analysis identified all 27 positive samples as genotype 1. These results confirmed the presence of D. fragilis in children in southern Xinjiang, China. The high degree of sequence homology in the SSU rRNA gene indicates a clonal distribution pattern for D. fragilis.