The Effect of Centrifugation on Standard Fecal Flotation Procedures in the Recovery of Parasitic Ova in Beef Cattle

Overview

Objectives/Goals My objective is to determine if adding a centrifugation step to a standard fecal floatation procedure will result in an increase in the number of parasitic ova recovered from fecal specimens obtained from beef cattle. Methods/Materials Fresh fecal samples were collected from 6 beef calves. These 6 month old calves weighing approximately 450 pounds were unweaned and had not been previously treated for parasites. Equal aliquots of each sample were tested in triplicate using standard fecal floatation procedure and a fecal floatation procedure using a centrifuged specimen. The number of ova recovered in each test was counted and recorded. Results In 5 of the 6 samples (83%), the centrifuged sample recovered greater numbers of ova. Conclusions/Discussion I conclude from this data that the addition of a centrifugation step to a standard fecal floatation procedure increases the likelihood that parasitic ova will be recovered in greater numbers. The addition of the centrifugation step decreases the probability of false negative test results especially in specimens with low total ova counts.

Competition history

• CSEF 2007 Applied Mechanics & Structures · Entry J0234

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