title: Accurate diagnosis of Giardia spp and proper fecal examination procedures.
abstract: A series of investigations evaluated the ability of different testing methods - a swing-head centrifugation technique using two flotation solutions (1.18-specific gravity zinc sulfate and 1.27-specific gravity Sheather's sugar solution), a passive commercial flotation technique, and the SNAP Giardia Test Kit from IDEXX Laboratories - to identify Giardia-positive dogs and recover the eggs of other intestinal parasites. It was determined that the SNAP Giardia test can improve a practice's ability to identify Giardia-infected dogs. Because of its higher specific gravity, the sugar solution was better for recovering heavy parasite eggs, such as Taenia spp, and thus is the flotation solution of choice when conducting routine centrifugation fecal examinations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Dryden
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002498:Centrifugation / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D004285:Dogs; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology*; D005872:Giardia / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005873:Giardiasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D010270:Parasite Egg Count / Q000662:veterinary*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D019287:Zinc Sulfate
chemical_list: D019287:Zinc Sulfate