The formol ethyl acetate concentration technique was applied for the quantification of helminth eggs in fecal samples. The proposed quantitative method was standardized through the use of a commercial kit, Coprotest®, and fecal samples with different counts of Ascaris lumbricoides eggs. For the comparison of the quantitative Coprotest® with other methods of egg quantification, a series of fecal samples was prepared in laboratory, with decreasing number of A. lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and Schistosoma mansoni eggs. It is discussed the advantages of a method that is able of detecting different helminth and also protozoa species, allowing, in concomitance, to estimate in the populations the intensity of S. mansoni and geohelminth infections. The quantitative Coprotest® showed to be feasible, providing results that were comparable to the other quantitative methods already described in the literature.
Fecal examination; Helminth; Egg count; Quantitative method
