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Comparison among FLOTAC, Kato-Katz and formalin ether concentration techniques for diagnosis of intestinal parasitic infections in school children in an Egyptian rural setting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 September 2020

Amal Farahat Allam Open the ORCID record for Amal Farahat Allam [Opens in a new window] ,
Hoda Fahmy Farag ,
Wael Lotfy ,
Hayam Hussien Fawzy ,
Heba Elhadad  and
Amel Youssef Shehab
Amal Farahat Allam*
Affiliation:
Department of Parasitology, Medical Research Institute, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
Hoda Fahmy Farag
Affiliation:
Department of Parasitology, Medical Research Institute, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
Wael Lotfy
Affiliation:
Faculty of Nursing, Matrouh University, Matrouh, Egypt
Hayam Hussien Fawzy
Affiliation:
Department of Parasitology, Medical Research Institute, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
Heba Elhadad
Affiliation:
Department of Parasitology, Medical Research Institute, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
Amel Youssef Shehab
Affiliation:
Department of Parasitology, Medical Research Institute, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
*
Author for correspondence: Amal Farahat Allam, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The study aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of the Kato-Katz, formalin ether concentration method (FECM) and FLOTAC using Sheather's sugar solution (FS1), saturated sodium chloride (FS2) and zinc sulfate (FS7) for the diagnosis of intestinal parasites among school children, focusing on Schistosoma mansoni. Ninety fecal samples were examined using the above mentioned techniques. The overall infection rate was 87.7%. Concerning protozoa, FLOTAC (FS1 and FS2) and FECM detected nearly equal infection rates (43.3% and 44.4%, respectively) with very good agreement. Kato-Katz diagnosed the highest helminthic infection rate (57.8%) followed by FLOTAC FS7 (44.4%) and FECM showed the lowest helminthic infection rate (27.7%). As for S. mansoni, Kato-Katz showed an infection rate of 38.8% vs FLOTAC (22.2%) and FECM (11.1%). The three techniques detected the same infection rate (11.1%) with egg counts more than 72 eggs/gram of feces. The FLOTAC sensitivity and accuracy for the diagnosis of protozoa were 97% and 99%, respectively. Regarding helminths diagnosis, FLOTAC technique showed higher sensitivity (77%) and accuracy (87%) compared to FECM (48% sensitivity and 70% accuracy). Therefore, FLOTAC can be used synchronously or in replacement to other diagnostic techniques. This can strategically impact future control programmes of intestinal parasitic infections in limited resources settings.

Keywords

FLOTACformalin ether concentration methodhelminthsKato-KatzprotozoaS. mansoni
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 148 , Issue 3 , March 2021 , pp. 289 - 294
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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