Mini- FLOTAC Technique as a Diagnostic Tool for Intestinal Parasitosis in Low Intensity Settings

Abstract

Background: Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are major health problems in developing countries. Globally, over 568 million school-age children live in intestinal helminth prevalent areas. Diagnosis is an important part of parasitic control programs, but till now there is no gold standard method for diagnosing IPIs.Objective(s): The present work aimed to evaluate the performance of Mini-FLOTAC by comparing it with Kato-Katz and formol ether concentration techniques (FECT) and to validate its diagnostic effectiveness in detecting intestinal parasites in a population with low infection intensities.Methods: The study was carried out in a primary school, in Banger El-Sokkar vilage, Borg El-Arab area, Alexandria Governorate, Egypt. Fecal samples were collected from 250 schoolchildren and examined using Mini-FLOTAC, FECT and Kato-Katz techniques. Results: Pooled data from the three techniques was used as gold standard reference. The results revealed that out of 250 schoolchildren examined, 36.4% were positive for IPIs. Protozoan rate was 34.8% while helminths rate was 1.6%. The most prevalent protozoan was Entamoeba histolytica (18.8%) followed by B. hominis (11.2%) and Giardia lamblia (10.8%). Ascaris lumbricoides was the only helminth found (1.6%). Mini-FLOTAC showed a higher sensitivity and a higher diagnostic accuracy in detecting IPIs than FECT (97.8% and 99.2% versus 69.23% and 88.8% respectively). Moreover, an almost perfect agreement was revealed between the gold standard and the Mini-FLOTAC while an only substantial agreement was detected with FECT. Kato-katz technique failed to diagnose any helminths.Conclusion: Mini-FLOTAC is a good alternative for IPIs diagnosis especially in low intensity settings and in limited resources settings.