Evaluation of a Microquantitative Method for Counting Coccidial Oocysts

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
For counting coccidial oocysts, the McMaster dilution method is commonly used. In 1939, P. P. Levine described a new quantitative method, a modification of the direct centrifugation-flotation method. However, rather than removing the cover slip from the centrifuge tube for examintion, Levine directly examined the cover slip still in place on the vial. To make this direct examination possible, he substituted a short flat-bottomed vial for the usual centrifuge tube. To test the Levine vial method, fecal material from red squirrels and chipmunks was macerated, suspended in water, and placed in separate 100 -ml volumetric flasks. Forty aliquots from these two flasks were processed and the oocysts counted in Levine vials, and, for comparison, an additional 40 aliquots counted in a standard hemocytometer. Average counts of oocysts in the Levine vials produced an overall estimate 5% less than the average number counted in the hemocytometer. Where only small fecal quantities (less than 0.1 g) are available for analysis, it is concluded the Levine vial method is a sensitive microquantitative method for counting oocysts.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: