Comparison of McMaster and Mini-FLOTAC fecal egg counting techniques in cattle and horses.

The aim of this study was to compare two fecal egg count (FEC) techniques; McMaster (McM) and Mini-FLOTAC (mF), for the detection of cattle and horse gastrointestinal nematode eggs, in different locations. Experiment 1: feces were collected from 16 cattle and FEC was performed individually, using mF with the sensitivity of 5 eggs per gram of feces (EPG) and McM with a sensitivity of 50 EPG at Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária de Minas Gerais - EPAMIG and the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases of the University of Parana - LDP/UFPR. Experiment 2: Fecal samples from 30 horses were analyzed with mF (sensitivity of 5 EPG) and McM (sensitivity of 25 EPG) at the University of Mato Grosso do Sul - UFMS and LPD/UFPR. Experiment 3: feces were collected from 14 foals and FEC was performed using mF (sensitivity of 5 EPG); and McM (sensitivity of 25 EPG) only at the LPD/UFPR. For cattle, the average FEC of mF was 962 at LPD; and 1248 at EPAMIG; for McM it was 1393 at LPD and 1563 at EPAMIG. For horses, the FEC average using the mF was 650 at LPD and 469 at UFMS; and for McM it was 677 at LPD and 554 at UFMS. For foals, the average FEC for mF was 404 and 436 for McM. In all experiments, the standard deviation and the coefficient of variation values were significantly lower for mF. Therefore, it is recommended the use of the Mini-FLOTAC technique, which is a method with less variability and higher accuracy, particularly for animals with low FEC.