Use of modified McMaster method for the diagnosis of intestinal helminth infections and estimating parasitic egg load in human faecal samples in non-endemic areas

Summary  A modified McMaster method has been used for the diagnosis and estimating helminth egg load in human faecal samples obtained from random consecutive patients in the areas non-endemic for helminth infections (Slovak Republic, North West Russia). Both positive and negative findings were in a 100 % concordance to those obtained with a reference method accepted in clinical diagnostic laboratories (microscopy of the native stool smear). The McMaster method was efficient in detecting nematode eggs in patients’ stool samples with egg load varying from very low (15–60 epg for T. trichiura) to moderate (1650–4500 epg for A. lumbricoides). Therefore, this method may be successfully (and with a better technical feasibility) used for the diagnosis of intestinal helminth infections in non-endemic areas, with further quantitative analysis of the sample when required.