RESUMO
Intestinal parasites inhabit the intestinal tract of humans and animals, causing damages whose severity depends on several factors related to the parasite and the host. Immunocompromised individuals are more likely to develop severe forms of parasitic infestation. The diagnosis of the gastrointestinal parasitosis is mainly performed by the examination of the feces, which consists of the direct visualization and identification of the parasites eliminated through the feces. These tests are generally low sensitive and the microscope slides contain a large number of impurities, which can impair the result of the diagnosis. In order to improve the diagnostic accuracy, a new parasitological technique called Three Fecal Test (TFTest) was developed. To further improve its diagnostic accuracy, few modifications of the original protocols have been made with the years. In this study the performance of these new techniques to detect gastrointestinal parasites in human and animal fecal samples was described and discussed in relation to the performance of other conventional coprological tests. It could be concluded that the TFTest conventional and modified can be used for the diagnosis of several human and animal parasites, with satisfactory results.
Assuntos
Enteropatias Parasitárias , Parasitos , Humanos , Animais , Enteropatias Parasitárias/diagnóstico , Enteropatias Parasitárias/veterinária , Enteropatias Parasitárias/parasitologia , Fezes/parasitologiaRESUMO
The increasingly close proximity between people and animals is of great concern for public health, given the risk of exposure to infectious diseases transmitted through animals, which are carriers of more than 60 zoonotic agents. These diseases, which are included in the list of Neglected Tropical Diseases, cause losses in countries with tropical and subtropical climates, and in regions with temperate climates. Indeed, they affect more than a billion people around the world, a large proportion of which are infected by one or more parasitic helminths, causing annual losses of billions of dollars. Several studies are being conducted in search for differentiated, more sensitive diagnostics with fewer errors. These studies, which involve the automated examination of intestinal parasites, still face challenges that must be overcome in order to ensure the proper identification of parasites. This includes a protocol that allows for elimination of most of the debris in samples, satisfactory staining of parasite structures, and a robust image database. Our objective here is therefore to offer a critical description of the techniques currently in use for the automated diagnosis of intestinal parasites in fecal samples, as well as advances in these techniques.
RESUMO
Because canine intestinal parasites are considered cosmopolitan, they carry significant zoonotic potential to public health. These etiological agents are routinely diagnosed using microscopic examination commonly used because of its low cost, simple execution, and direct evidence. However, there are reports in the literature on the poor performance of this test due to low to moderate sensitivity resulting from frequent errors, procedures and interpretation. Therefore, to improve the diagnostic efficiency of microscopic examination in veterinary medicine, we developed and evaluated a unique new protocol. This system was tested in a study involving four genera of highly prevalent canine intestinal parasites in an endemic region in São Paulo state, Brazil. Fecal samples from 104 animals were collected for this research. The new protocol had a significantly higher (p < 0.0001) number of positive cases on image data, including parasites and impurities, and was elaborate to test them with the TF-GII/Dog technique, with a moderate agreement and Kappa index of 0.7636. We concluded that the new Prototic Coproparasitological Test for Dogs (PC-Test Dog) allowed a better visualization of the parasitic structures and showed a favorable result for the diagnosis of intestinal parasites in dogs.