Reliability of three common fecal egg counting techniques for detecting strongylid and ascarid infections in horses.
Abstract: The detection and quantification of nematode eggs using fecal egg count techniques have an irreplaceable role in equine parasitic control. The reliability, particularly precision and accuracy, of individual techniques have been described only for strongylid infections. The aim of this study was to compare three fecal egg count techniques used for the detection of the two most common equine nematode infections: strongylid and ascarid. The Simple McMaster, Concentration McMaster and Mini-FLOTAC techniques were tested on spiked fecal samples with various levels of egg concentration (50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 3000 eggs per gram) and naturally infected mixed strongylid-ascarid samples with 30 replicates. The Simple McMaster, Concentration McMaster and Mini-FLOTAC techniques had precision coefficients of variation of 44.33, 35.64 and 18.25% for the strongylid infection and 62.95, 35.71 and 18.95% for the ascarid infection, and percent accuracies (mean count/number of eggs spiked) of 97.53, 88.39 and 74.18% for the strongylid infection and 65.53, 83.18 and 90.28% for the ascarid infection, respectively. Accuracy depended greatly on the type of nematode, but precision did not. The Mini-FLOTAC technique was more precise than the Simple and Concentration McMaster techniques regardless of nematode type. Simple McMaster was the most accurate technique for detecting strongylid eggs, and Mini-FLOTAC was the most accurate technique for detecting ascarid eggs. Our results indicated that none of the current techniques were universally and sufficiently reliable for the simultaneous quantification of both of these common equine nematodes.
Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2019-07-10 PubMed ID: 31395205DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2019.07.001Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
This article is a comparison study of three different fecal egg counting techniques used in the detection of the two most common parasites in horses. It evaluates the reliability of these methods, finding that none were universally effective or reliable for both types of infections.
Research Objective and Methodology
- This research aimed to evaluate the reliability, focusing on precision and accuracy, of Simple McMaster, Concentration McMaster, and Mini-FLOTAC techniques.
- These techniques were tested on spiked horse fecal samples, which had different levels of egg concentration.
- Also, these techniques were tested on naturally infected mixed samples of the two most common nematode infections in horses: strongylid and ascarid.
Key Findings
- Among the three techniques, the Mini-FLOTAC technique displayed greater precision than the Simple and Concentration McMaster techniques irrespective of the nematode type.
- In terms of accuracy, the Simple McMaster was found to be most accurate technique for detecting strongylid eggs, while Mini-FLOTAC was the most accurate for detecting ascarid eggs.
- The study found that accuracy was significantly dependent on the type of nematode, whereas precision was not.
- The study emphasized that none of the current techniques were universally reliable for quantifying both common equine nematodes simultaneously.
Conclusion
- The study concluded that while the Mini-FLOTAC technique was found to be most precise, Simple McMaster and Mini-FLOTAC were the most accurate for detecting strongylid and ascarid eggs, respectively.
- Due to the varying levels of accuracy and precision in the three methods, researchers noted that none of the techniques was universally and sufficiently reliable for both types of nematode infections.
- This highlights a need for further development and validation of methods to improve the simultaneous detection and quantification of both strongylid and ascarid infections in horses.
Cite This Article
APA
Nápravníková J, Petrtýl M, Stupka R, Vadlejch J.
(2019).
Reliability of three common fecal egg counting techniques for detecting strongylid and ascarid infections in horses.
Vet Parasitol, 272, 53-57.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2019.07.001 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00, Prague, Suchdol, Czech Republic.
- Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00, Prague, Suchdol, Czech Republic.
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00, Prague, Suchdol, Czech Republic.
- Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00, Prague, Suchdol, Czech Republic. Electronic address: vadlejch@af.czu.cz.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Ascaridiasis / diagnosis
- Ascaridiasis / parasitology
- Ascaridiasis / veterinary
- Feces / parasitology
- Horse Diseases / diagnosis
- Horse Diseases / parasitology
- Horses
- Parasite Egg Count / standards
- Parasite Egg Count / veterinary
- Reproducibility of Results
- Strongyle Infections, Equine / diagnosis
- Strongyle Infections, Equine / parasitology
Citations
This article has been cited 12 times.- Karaer MC, Sönmez Hİ, Madak E, Kankılıç T, Tavşanoğlu Ç, Sarımehmetoğlu HO. Helminths of captive and free-ranging populations of the mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella): Evidence from faecal examination. Vet Med Sci 2024 May;10(3):e1429.
- Lejeune M, Mann S, White H, Maguire D, Hazard J, Young R, Stone C, Antczak D, Bowman D. Evaluation of Fecal Egg Count Tests for Effective Control of Equine Intestinal Strongyles. Pathogens 2023 Oct 26;12(11).
- Bosco A, Ciuca L, Maurelli MP, Vitiello P, Cringoli G, Prada JM, Rinaldi L. Comparison of Mini-FLOTAC, Flukefinder and sedimentation techniques for detection and quantification of Fasciola hepatica and Calicophoron daubneyi eggs using spiked and naturally infected bovine faecal samples. Parasit Vectors 2023 Aug 2;16(1):260.
- Johnson WL, Reynolds S, Adkins CL, Wehus-Tow B, Brennan J, Krus CB, Buttke D, Martin JM, Jesudoss Chelladurai JRJ. A comparison of Mini-FLOTAC and McMaster techniques, overdispersion and prevalence of parasites in naturally infected North American bison (Bison bison) in the USA. Curr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis 2022;2:100103.
- Dauparaitė E, Kupčinskas T, Varady M, Petkevičius S. Anthelmintic resistance of horse strongyle nematodes to fenbendazole in Lithuania. Acta Vet Scand 2022 Sep 15;64(1):26.
- Boelow H, Krücken J, Thomas E, Mirams G, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G. Comparison of FECPAK(G2), a modified Mini-FLOTAC technique and combined sedimentation and flotation for the coproscopic examination of helminth eggs in horses. Parasit Vectors 2022 May 12;15(1):166.
- Ghafar A, Abbas G, King J, Jacobson C, Hughes KJ, El-Hage C, Beasley A, Bauquier J, Wilkes EJA, Hurley J, Cudmore L, Carrigan P, Tennent-Brown B, Nielsen MK, Gauci CG, Beveridge I, Jabbar A. Comparative studies on faecal egg counting techniques used for the detection of gastrointestinal parasites of equines: A systematic review. Curr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis 2021;1:100046.
- Nápravníková J, Várady M, Vadlejch J. Total Failure of Fenbendazole to Control Strongylid Infections in Czech Horse Operations. Front Vet Sci 2022;9:833204.
- Genchi M, Vismarra A, Zanet S, Morelli S, Galuppi R, Cringoli G, Lia R, Diaferia M, Frangipane di Regalbono A, Venegoni G, Solari Basano F, Varcasia A, Perrucci S, Musella V, Brianti E, Gazzonis A, Drigo M, Colombo L, Kramer L. Prevalence and risk factors associated with cat parasites in Italy: a multicenter study. Parasit Vectors 2021 Sep 15;14(1):475.
- Shchelkanov MY, Tabakaeva TV, Fomenko PV, Kim EM, Tabakaev AV, Galkina IV. A retrospective study of Uncinaria stenocephala in domestic dogs: Age, sex distribution, and risk factors. Vet World 2021 Jan;14(1):265-269.
- Maurelli MP, Dourado Martins OM, Morgan ER, Charlier J, Cringoli G, Mateus TL, Bacescu B, Chartier C, Claerebout E, de Waal T, Helm C, Hertzberg H, Hinney B, Höglund J, Kyriánová IA, Mickiewicz M, Petkevičius S, Simin S, Sotiraki S, Tosheska M, Toth M, Martínez-Valladares M, Varady M, Sekovska B, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G, Rinaldi L. A Qualitative Market Analysis Applied to Mini-FLOTAC and Fill-FLOTAC for Diagnosis of Helminth Infections in Ruminants. Front Vet Sci 2020;7:580649.
- Amadesi A, Bosco A, Rinaldi L, Cringoli G, Claerebout E, Maurelli MP. Cattle gastrointestinal nematode egg-spiked faecal samples: high recovery rates using the Mini-FLOTAC technique. Parasit Vectors 2020 May 6;13(1):230.
Use Nutrition Calculator
Check if your horse's diet meets their nutrition requirements with our easy-to-use tool Check your horse's diet with our easy-to-use tool
Talk to a Nutritionist
Discuss your horse's feeding plan with our experts over a free phone consultation Discuss your horse's diet over a phone consultation
Submit Diet Evaluation
Get a customized feeding plan for your horse formulated by our equine nutritionists Get a custom feeding plan formulated by our nutritionists
