title: [Detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in goat kid faeces: comparison of a latex agglutination test with three other conventional techniques].
abstract: Detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts from goat kid faeces: comparison of a latex agglutination test with three other conventional techniques. A quantitative latex agglutination test (QLAT) with monoclonal antibodies for the detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in faeces was compared with 3 other conventional techniques: Heine staining on faecal smears (HS) giving semi-quantitative results (scores from 1 to 5), sucrose flotation on diluted faeces (SF) with results expressed in oocysts/g of faeces (opg), direct ELISA (DE) giving qualitative results. Goat kid unconcentrated faecal samples (234) from 8 farms were processed according to the 4 techniques. Data were analyzed with Win Episcope 1.0 and Testview 1.1 softwares. The oocyst outputs ranged from 100 000 (detection limit for SF) to 200 millions opg (mean: 15.2 millions opg). A very good agreement was recorded between QLAT and HS, SF, DE: Kappa values ranged between 0.82 and 0.90. When considering the samples exhibiting oocysts (or not) as positive (or negative) using both HS and SF (n = 219), the sensitivity and specificity of QLAT were respectively 95.1 and 96.0%. The lack of sensitivity was observed in faeces harboring a few oocysts (< or = 200 000 opg, scores < or = 2) whereas the lack of specificity was only observed in 3 samples originating from the same farm. A significant correlation was calculated between the percentage of agglutination in QLAT and the number of oocysts in SF or scores in HS (Spearman correlation ranging from 0.45 to 0.48, p < 0.001). QLAT is a rapid, simple and reliable tool for routine detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in faeces.
authors.affiliation: AFSSA-Niort, Laboratoire d'Etudes et de Recherches Caprines, France. c.chartier@niort.afssa.fr
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chartier
authors.forename: Marie Pierre
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Mallereau-Pellet
authors.forename: Roselyne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mancassola
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nussbaum
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D003457:Cryptosporidiosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D003458:Cryptosporidium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology*; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology*; D006041:Goats; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D009865:Oocytes; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity