Original Scientific Article
Assessment of reagent effectiveness and preservation methods for equine faecal samples
Eva Vavrouchova
*
,
Stepan Bodecek
,
Olga Dobesova
Received: 09 October 2014
Received in revised form: 06 January 2015
Accepted: 22 January 2015
Available Online First: 13 February 2015
Published on: 15 March 2015
Correspondence: Eva Vavrouchova,
Abstract
The aim of our study was to identify the most suitable flotation solution and effective preservation method for the examination of equine faeces samples using the FLOTAC technique. Samples from naturally infected horses were transported to the laboratory and analysed accordingly. The sample from each horse was homogenized and divided into four parts: one was frozen, another two were preserved in different reagents such as sodium acetate-acetic-acid–formalin(SAF) or 5% formalin. The last part was examined as a fresh sample in three different flotation solutions (Sheather´s solution, sodium chloride and sodium nitrate solution, all with a specific gravity 1.200). The preserved samples were examined in the period from 14 to 21days after collection. According to our results, the sucrose solution was the most suitable flotation solution for fresh samples (small strongyle egg per gram was 706 compared to 360 in sodium chlorid and 507 in sodium nitrate) and the sodium nitrate solution was the most efficient for the preserved samples (egg per gram was 382 compared to 295 in salt solution and 305 in sucrose solution). Freezing appears to be the most effective method of sample preservation, resulting in minimal damage to fragile strongyle eggs and therefore it is the most simple and effective preservation method for the examination of large numbers of faecal samples without the necessity of examining them all within 48 hours of collection. Deep freezing as a preservation method for equine faeces samples has not, according to our knowledge, been yet published.
Keywords: horse, flotation solution, small strongyles, freezing, formalin
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Copyright
© 2015 Vavrouchova E. This is an open-access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Acknowledgment
The study was supported by grant IGA VFU 41/2013/FVL.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declared that they have no potential conflict of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
Citation Information
Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 38, Issue 1, Pages 101-106, p-ISSN 1409-7621, e-ISSN 1857-7415, DOI: 10.14432/j.macvetrev.2015.02.040, 2015
10.14432/j.macvetrev.2015.02.040
