Comparison of two coprological methods for the diagnosis of Eurytrema ssp. in cattle and sheep

OLMOS, L.H.; PANTIU, A.; AVELLANEDA-CÁCERES, A.; VALENCIA, P.N.; CAYO, P.N.; SIGNORINI, M.L.; MICHELOUD, J.F.

JOURNAL OF HELMINTHOLOGY

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2022 vol. 96

0022-149X

Eurytrematosis is a disease caused by flukes of the genus Eurytrema. These parasites infect thepancreatic ducts of a wide variety of species, including cattle, sheep and humans. Diagnosingeurytrematosis through the analysis of faecal samples can be difficult because most of the availabletechniques are considered of low sensitivity. In this context, a modification of the Dennis,Stone and Swanson technique (Belem Sedimentation Technique, BST) was previously developedto increase the probability of detecting infected animals; nevertheless, the values of eggs pergram obtained using the modified technique are generally low. We proposed a modificationof the this technique (MBST), to increase the sensitivity and detection rate of infected animals.The objective of this work was to describe MBST and compare it with BST. Faecal samples of212 clinically healthy animals (174 from cattle and 38 from sheep) from 20 farms were taken bythe intra-rectal route and stored at 4°C. The samples were processed using BST and MBST.Positive samples amounted to 55 (25.9%) using BST and 121 (57.1%) using MBST. In the simplesfrom cattle, 52 (29.8%) and 107 (61.4%) were positive in BST and MBST, respectively. Insheep, three (7.8%) and 14 (36.8%) positive samples were obtained in BST and MBST,respectively.The results obtained using the two methods were significantly different, indicatinga lack of agreement between their findings. The results suggest that MBST is a more sensitivemethod to detect Eurytrema spp. eggs in faeces than BST.