Comparative study between the INTA-modified McMaster and Mini-FLOTAC techniques for nematode egg counts in equine feces

Abstract

The use of quantitative coprological egg counting technics can indirectly establish the burden of intestinal parasites and anthelmintic efficiency in parasitology research and in dairy veterinary practice as well. McMaster Modificated INTA technique (MM), is one of the most used methods in veterinary practice, but recently, Mini Flotac technique (MF) has become as an alternative. Comparisons need to be made between these techniques to establish which one´s use is more convenient, that’s why equine fecal egg counts were made to analyze precision. Fifty-five random equine fecal samples from female and male horses, ages between 18 months and 17 years, were analyzed in this work. The results of fecal egg counts (FEC) were 532,73±577 and 564,68±583 for MM and MF, respectively. The accuracy for MF (78,67%) was above MM (66,92%). The results in this study determine that MF has more precision in comparison with MM technique. The time required for each sample to be done was of 37:70 min ±0,96for MM and 33:12 min±0,81 for MF. From these findings we can conclude that MF exhibit more precision and required less time for the analysis in comparison with MM technique. In future studies, samples with known HPG should be incorporated, with enrichment of fecal samples, so that accuracy can be evaluated, and then determine the convenience of using one or another technique.