Modifications of the mini-flotac technique used on cattle and sheep feces to facilitate its use in field routines

Vinícius Vieira De Paiva,Lívia Mendonça De Aguiar,Fernanda Rosalinski-Moraes,Gismar Silva Vieira

doi:10.7213/acad.2021.19006

Vinícius Vieira De Paiva, Lívia Mendonça De Aguiar + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.7213/acad.2021.19006

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to compare the Gordon and Whitlock (GW) and mini-FLOTAC (MF) egg counting techniques in order to propose modifications of the latter, which is a current and more sensitive egg counting technique. The idea was to read only one compartment of the MF chamber, and also to propose a model to enable the use of the fill-FLOTAC (FF) device for sheep feces. To this end, strongylid eggs per gram of feces (EPG) were counted using a pool of cattle and sheep feces. The results indicated that there was no significant difference between the proposed methods, except for the use of the FF device for sheep fecal pellets without first weighing the sample or the use of a correction factor of 2.6. Reading only one compartment of the MF device, using the fill-FLOTAC device to perform the test renders the mini-FLOTAC technique more efficient in counting eggs per gram of feces than the Gordon and Whitlock method.

Highlights

The purpose of this study is to compare the Gordon and Whitlock (GW) and mini-FLOTAC (MF) egg counting techniques in order to propose modifications of the latter, which is a current and more sensitive egg counting technique
The longer time spent in reading the MF chamber than that required by the GW technique may make it difficult to use in routine testing when large numbers of samples have to be processed
This study aimed to devise modifications to simplify the strongylid egg counting process without impairing its accuracy, ensuring that its quality is the same as or better than the methods widely used in these routine laboratory tests

Summary

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to compare the Gordon and Whitlock (GW) and mini-FLOTAC (MF) egg counting techniques in order to propose modifications of the latter, which is a current and more sensitive egg counting technique. The idea was to read only one compartment of the MF chamber, and to propose a model to enable the use of the fill-FLOTAC (FF) device for sheep feces To this end, strongylid eggs per gram of feces (EPG) were counted using a pool of cattle and sheep feces. Reading only one compartment of the MF device, using the fill-FLOTAC device to perform the test renders the mini-FLOTAC technique more efficient in counting eggs per gram of feces than the Gordon and Whitlock method. A leitura de apenas um compartimento do dispositivo MF, usando o dispositivo fill-FLOTAC para realizar o teste, torna a técnica mini-FLOTAC mais eficiente na contagem de ovos por grama de fezes do que o método de Gordon e Whitlock. This study aimed to devise modifications to simplify the strongylid egg counting process without impairing its accuracy, ensuring that its quality is the same as or better than the methods widely used in these routine laboratory tests

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Results