THE FECAL EXAMINATION - A MISSING LINK IN FOOD ANIMAL PRACTICE

Fecal examinations are seldom performed for cattle because many veteri narians have long felt that the results of such examinations are unrel iable for cattle. Cattle produce a large volume of feces and tend to s hed relatively few worm eggs. Consequently, direct smear and dilution techniques are unlikely to provide consistent results. This column dis cusses the modified Wisconsin sugar flotation method for detecting wor m eggs in cattle feces. This method is much more effective than other methods of detecting worm eggs in bovine feces. The authors feel that this quick, simple, and inexpensive method of fecal examination can he lp provide a scientific basis for parasite diagnosis and treatment rec ommendations.