Fecal Parasite Examination
AVL provides fecal parasite examination by a salt solution/centrifugation method. (AVL provides collection container for use in this procedure.)
AVL’s procedure for fecal examination follows the recommendations provided by the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC).
- Gross Examination
- Before submission of feces to AVL, the veterinarian or technician should conduct a gross examination for presence of blood, mucus, intact worms or tapeworm segments.
- Sample Size (very important)
- Specimen size should be at least 1 gram of formed feces (approximately 1 tablespoon). If feces are soft: sample size should be 2 grams, for slurry-like, submit 4 grams. For liquid feces, a sample of 6 grams should be submitted.
- Inadequate sample size (ex: fecal loop or very small sample) may result in false negative results.
- Solution
- AVL uses Sheather’s sugar solution: more efficient for the centrifugation technique than salt solutions.
- Centrifugation
- Well-mixed feces with a salt solution are poured into centrifugation tubes. The tube is spun near full, removed from the centrifuge and filled to the top. A cover slip is added and allowed to sit a minimum of 20 minutes before reading.
The outlined method as employed by AVL, upon recommendation by the CAPC, provides accurate fecal parasite examinations. At times other examination/methods are needed, including direct saline smears for giardia, Baerman funnel method for lung worm and antigen testing for giardia/cryptosporidia.
