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A comparison of mini-FLOTAC and FLOTAC with classic methods to diagnosing intestinal parasites of dogs from Brazil

Parasitology Research volume 114, pages 3529–3533 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Dogs may be affected by different species of gastrointestinal parasites which present great importance in veterinary medicine and public health. Several techniques to diagnosing these parasites have been proposed, but different performances achieved by each method make difficult the choice of the best technique to be used. In this study, the performance of two classic methods (i.e., Willis and Hoffman techniques) and two recent techniques (i.e., FLOTAC and Mini-FLOTAC) to diagnosing gastrointestinal parasites of dogs was evaluated. Fecal samples (n = 127) of dogs divided in pools (n = 30) were collected and analyzed using four different techniques (see above). Eggs and/or oocysts of gastrointestinal parasites were detected in 93.3 % (28/30) of the samples. In particular, 20 % (6/30) were detected through the method of Hoffman, 53.3 % (16/30) by the Willis technique, and 63.3 % (19/30) and 90 % (27/30) by Mini-FLOTAC and FLOTAC, respectively. Ancylostomatidae, Trichuris vulpis and Toxocara canis were the most frequent parasites herein detected. The FLOTAC and Mini-FLOTAC techniques were the most efficient tools to detect eggs and/or oocysts of gastrointestinal parasites of dogs, therefore their use is recommended in the laboratorial routine of veterinary medicine. This study is the first report of the use of both techniques (i.e., FLOTAC and Mini-FLOTAC) to diagnosing parasites of dogs in Brazil.

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Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil

    Victor Fernando Santana Lima, Maria Fernanda Melo Monteiro, Andréa Maria Campos Calado, Rafael Antonio Nascimento Ramos & Leucio Câmara Alves

  2. Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions, University of Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy

    Giuseppe Cringoli & Laura Rinaldi

  3. Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Brazil

    Patrícia Oliveira Meira-Santos

Authors
  1. Victor Fernando Santana Lima
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  2. Giuseppe Cringoli
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  3. Laura Rinaldi
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  4. Maria Fernanda Melo Monteiro
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  5. Andréa Maria Campos Calado
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  6. Rafael Antonio Nascimento Ramos
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  7. Patrícia Oliveira Meira-Santos
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  8. Leucio Câmara Alves
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rafael Antonio Nascimento Ramos.

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Lima, V.F.S., Cringoli, G., Rinaldi, L. et al. A comparison of mini-FLOTAC and FLOTAC with classic methods to diagnosing intestinal parasites of dogs from Brazil. Parasitol Res 114, 3529–3533 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-015-4605-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-015-4605-x

Keywords

  • Dogs
  • Parasites
  • Parasitological techniques
  • FLOTAC
  • Mini-FLOTAC