Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39800725›Full record

ArticleParasites & vectors2025

Comparative assessment of Mini-FLOTAC, McMaster and semi-quantitative flotation for helminth egg examination in camel faeces.

Khalid M Mohammedsalih, Salma A Hassan, Fathel-Rahman Juma, Shamsaldeen I Saeed, Ahmed Bashar, Georg von Samson-Himmelstjerna, Jürgen Krücken

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Parasites & vectors, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Comparison of wet mount, Mini-FLOTAC and Midi Parasep® coprological techniques for the detection ofInternational journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Molecular and morphological characteristics ofFrontiers in veterinary science · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Aqueous extracts ofFrontiers in veterinary science · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Khalid M Mohammedsalih *Institute for Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7, 14163, Berlin, Germany.
Salma A Hassan *Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Nyala, Mousseh District, 63311, Nyala, Sudan.
Fathel-Rahman JumaCentral Research Laboratory of Darfur Universities, Mousseh District, 63311, Nyala, Sudan.
Shamsaldeen I SaeedFaculty of Veterinary Science, University of Nyala, Mousseh District, 63311, Nyala, Sudan.
Ahmed BasharFaculty of Veterinary Science, University of Nyala, Mousseh District, 63311, Nyala, Sudan.
Georg von Samson-HimmelstjernaInstitute for Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7, 14163, Berlin, Germany.
Jürgen KrückenInstitute for Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7, 14163, Berlin, Germany. juergen.kruecken@fu-berlin.de.

Funding

Young Scientists from the Commission of Scientific Research and Innovation, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Sudan RPNUSNP/0295/2021
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFaecal egg counts (FECs) are essential for diagnosing helminth infections and guiding treatment decisions. For camels, no evaluations of coproscopic methods regarding precision, sensitivity and correlation between individual and pooled faecal samples are currently available.

methodsHere, 410 camel faecal samples were collected in 2022 from South Darfur State, Sudan, and analysed to compare the semi-quantitative flotation, McMaster and Mini-FLOTAC methods in terms of precision, sensitivity, inter-rater reliability and helminth egg count correlations, as well as the effects of pooling samples. Six samples were used to assess precision for McMaster and Mini-FLOTAC, while the remaining 404 samples were evaluated for sensitivity, inter-rater reliability and egg count correlations. Of these, 80 samples were used in pooling experiments.

resultsSix analyses of each sample (n = 6) using the McMaster and Mini-FLOTAC methods revealed no significant difference in the coefficient of variation between the two. For strongyle eggs, 48.8%, 52.7% and 68.6% were positive for McMaster, semi-quantitative flotation and Mini-FLOTAC, respectively. The sensitivity of the three methods showed only minimal improvement when three egg counts were performed on the same sample. McMaster and Mini-FLOTAC had similar sensitivity for Strongyloides spp. (3.5% frequency), while it was lower for semi-quantitative flotation at 2.5%. Mini-FLOTAC was more sensitive for Moniezia spp., detecting 7.7% of positives compared with 4.5% for semi-quantitative flotation and 2.2% for McMaster. For Trichuris spp., frequencies were 0.3% with Mini-FLOTAC, 0.7% with McMaster and 1.7% with semi-quantitative flotation. Mini-FLOTAC also detected higher strongyle eggs per gram (EPG) of faeces (mean 537.4) compared with McMaster (330.1). More samples exceeded treatment thresholds with Mini-FLOTAC, with 28.5% of animals having EPG ≥ 200 compared with 19.3% for McMaster, while 19.1% showed EPG ≥ 500 with Mini-FLOTAC compared with 12.1% with McMaster. There was no significant correlation between individual and pooled strongyle FECs, as indicated by Pearson correlation coefficients of r ≥ 0.368 (P ≥ 0.113) and Spearman correlation.

conclusionsMini-FLOTAC outperformed semi-quantitative flotation and McMaster in diagnosing helminth infections in camels, offering greater sensitivity and detecting higher EPGs, particularly for strongyles, Strongyloides spp. and Moniezia spp. Thus, treatment decisions based on Mini-FLOTAC EPGs will lead to more treatments.

Indexed as

CamelusFecesHelminthiasis, AnimalHelminthsParasite Egg CountAnimalsReproducibility of ResultsSensitivity and SpecificitySudanDromedaryFaecal egg quantificationHelminth infectionsTest accuracy

Identifiers

PMID39800725
PMCPMC11726973

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.