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FLOTAC for the diagnosis of Hymenolepis spp. infection: proof-of-concept and comparing diagnostic accuracy with other methods

Steinmann, Peter ; Cringoli, Giuseppe ; Bruschi, Fabrizio ; Matthys, Barbara ; Lohourignon, Laurent ; Castagna, Barbara ; Maurelli, Maria ; Morgoglione, Maria ; Utzinger, Jürg ; Rinaldi, Laura

In: Parasitology Research, 2012, vol. 111, no. 2, p. 749-754

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    Title
    • FLOTAC for the diagnosis of Hymenolepis spp. infection: proof-of-concept and comparing diagnostic accuracy with other methods
    Author
    • Steinmann, Peter. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, P.O. Box, 4002, Basel, Switzerland
    • Cringoli, Giuseppe. Department of Pathology and Animal Health, CREMOPAR Regione Campania, University of Naples "Federico II”, Naples, Italy
    • Bruschi, Fabrizio. Department of Experimental Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
    • Matthys, Barbara. University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
    • Lohourignon, Laurent. UFR Biosciences, Université de Cocody, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
    • Castagna, Barbara. Department of Experimental Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
    • Maurelli, Maria. Department of Pathology and Animal Health, CREMOPAR Regione Campania, University of Naples "Federico II”, Naples, Italy
    • Morgoglione, Maria. Department of Pathology and Animal Health, CREMOPAR Regione Campania, University of Naples "Federico II”, Naples, Italy
    • Utzinger, Jürg. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, P.O. Box, 4002, Basel, Switzerland
    • Rinaldi, Laura. Department of Pathology and Animal Health, CREMOPAR Regione Campania, University of Naples "Federico II”, Naples, Italy
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    Classification
    • Biology, Life sciences
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:309759
    Summary
    Hymenolepis nana is the most common cestode parasitizing humans, yet it is under-diagnosed. We determined the optimal flotation solution (FS) for the diagnosis of this intestinal parasite with the FLOTAC method, and compared its diagnostic accuracy with an ether-concentration technique and the Kato-Katz method. Zinc sulphate (specific gravity 1.20) proved to be the best-performing FS. Using this FS, we detected 65 H. nana infections among 234 fixed fecal samples from Tajik and Sahrawi children (prevalence 27.8%). The ether-concentration technique detected 40 infections (prevalence 17.1%) in the same samples. Considering the combined results as a reference, the sensitivities of FLOTAC and ether-concentration were 95.6% and 58.8%, respectively. The Kato-Katz method resulted in a prevalence of only 8.7%. In terms of eggs per gram of stool, a significantly (P <0.05) higher value was obtained with the FLOTAC and Kato-Katz techniques compared to ether-concentration. In another study carried out in China, the FLOTAC method detected six Hymenolepis diminuta infections in 302 fecal samples, whereas five samples were found positive with the Kato-Katz technique. We conclude that FLOTAC is an accurate coprodiagnostic technique for H. nana and H. diminuta, two species which join a growing list of intestinal parasites that can be reliably diagnosed by this technique