Open Access
Copyright: The authors. This article is an open access
article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) which permits unrestricted use,
distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly
cited.
Research
1.
Comparison of different diagnostic techniques against
fasciolosis in buffaloes -
M. M. Salam, A. Maqbool, A. Naureen and M. Lateef
Vet World. 2009; 2(4): 129-132
Abstract
The present study was conducted to compare different diagnostic
tests viz., Direct Smear (DS), Agar gel precipitation (AGP),
Sedimentation (Sd), and Zinc Sulfate (ZnSO4)
flotation for fasciolosis in dairy buffaloes as well as the
economic losses due to fasciolosis. A total of 200 faecal
samples were examined and DS, AGP, Sd, and ZnSO4
flotation techniques showed an overall prevalence of 2, 8, 5 and
4%, respectively. The highest agreement was observed between Sd
and ZnSO4
(0.88, 95%CI; 0.74-1.02) followed by AGP and Sd (0.75, 95%CI;
0.62-0.88), ZnSO4
and DS (0.65, 95%CI; 0.52-0.78), AGP and ZnSO4
(0.648, 95%CI; 0.51-0.77), DS and Sd (0.55, 95%CI; 0.43-0.68),
and DSM and AGP (0.38, 95%CI; 0.27-0.48). By taking DS as a gold
standard, all tests showed 100 percent sensitivity results and
same trend was observed in case of negative predictive values (NPV).
Highest specificity was shown by ZnSO4, followed by Sd and AGP.
Similar trends were observed in the positive predictive values (PPV).
Then, by taking AGP as gold standard, all tests showed 100
percent specificity and positive predictive values (PPV) while,
Sd showed highest sensitivity followed by ZnSO4 and AGP and
similar trend was observed regarding NPV of tests. To this end,
most effective test is AGP followed by Sd, ZnSO4
and DS method. Moreover, AGP is the most suitable method for
diagnosing the fasciolosis in early stages. Total economic
losses due to fasciolosis during three months (Oct. – Dec. 2004)
were found very high i.e Rs. 1016400.
Keywords:
Fasciola hepatica,
comparison, diagnostic tests, buffaloes
