sodium-acetate--anhydrous and Intestinal-Diseases--Parasitic

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the Kato-Katz test (WHO version) with stool samples from a rural area, fixed with sodium acetate (SAF). The Kato-Katz test was used to compare unfixed samples (conventional test) with the same samples containing SAF fixative at time 0 and at 6 months. The study included stools from 154 subjects. A marginally statistically significant decrease in prevalence was estimated only for hookworm, when comparing unfixed samples versus the SAF fixed samples read at 6 months (p=0.06). A significant reduction in parasite load was found for hookworm (p<0.01) and Trichuris trichiura (p<0.01) between the unfixed and the fixed sample read at 6 months, but not for Ascaris lumbricoides (p=0.10). This research suggests that the SAF fixative solution is a good option for transporting samples for diagnosis, especially in rural areas in developing countries.

Topics: Adult; Ancylostomatoidea; Animals; Ascariasis; Ascaris lumbricoides; Biological Transport; Colombia; Developing Countries; Feces; Female; Fixatives; Helminthiasis; Hookworm Infections; Humans; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Intestines; Male; Middle Aged; Parasite Egg Count; Parasite Load; Prevalence; Sensitivity and Specificity; Sodium Acetate; Soil; Time Factors; Trichuris; World Health Organization

Exotic reptiles have become increasingly common domestic pets worldwide and are well known to be carriers of different parasites including some with zoonotic potential. The need of accurate diagnosis of gastrointestinal endoparasite infections in domestic reptiles is therefore essential, not only for the well-being of captive reptiles but also for the owners. Here, two different approaches for the detection of parasite stages in reptile faeces were compared: a combination of native and iodine stained direct smears together with a flotation technique (CNF) versus the standard SAF-method.. A total of 59 different reptile faeces (20 lizards, 22 snakes, 17 tortoises) were coprologically analyzed by the two methods for the presence of endoparasites. Analyzed reptile faecal samples contained a broad spectrum of parasites (total occurence 93.2%, n = 55) including different species of nematodes (55.9%, n = 33), trematodes (15.3%, n = 9), pentastomids (3.4%, n = 2) and protozoans (47.5%, n = 28). Associations between the performances of both methods to detect selected single parasite stages or groups of such were evaluated by Fisher's exact test and marginal homogeneity was tested by the McNemar test. In 88.1% of all examined samples (n = 52, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 77.1 - 95.1%) the two diagnostic methods rendered differing results, and the McNemar test for paired observations showed highly significant differences of the detection frequency (P < 0.0001).. The combination of direct smears/flotation proved superior in the detection of flagellates trophozoites, coccidian oocysts and nematode eggs, especially those of oxyurids. SAF-technique was superior in detecting larval stages and trematode eggs, but this advantage failed to be statistically significant (P = 0.13). Therefore, CNF is the recommended method for routine faecal examination of captive reptiles while the SAF-technique is advisable as additional measure particularly for wild caught animals and individuals which are to be introduced into captive collections.

Topics: Acetic Acid; Animals; Diagnostic Tests, Routine; Feces; Formaldehyde; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Iodine; Lizards; Snakes; Sodium Acetate; Turtles