Comparison of direct wet mount, Kato–Katz and formol ether sedimentation technique for the diagnosis of hookworm infection in Debre Elias Woreda, Northwest Ethiopia
Yibeltal Aschale, Ligabaw Worku, Ayenew Addisu, Mekuannint Alemu, Abebe Alemu
Abstract
Hookworm infection is a neglected parasitic disease. Direct wet mount is the usual method for the diagnosis of hookworm in Ethiopia, but its sensitivity is unsatisfactory. A cross-sectional study was therefore conducted from January to February 2018 among 192 study participants in Debre Elias district. Stool samples were processed by three methods: the prevalence of hookworm was 77.6%, 68.2% and 49.0% by Kato–Katz, formol ether sedimentation technique and direct wet mount, respectively. Direct wet mount had relatively low sensitivity (61.4%) compared to formol ether sedimentation technique (85.6%) and Kato–Katz (97.4%). The latter two compared well with the gold standard method with kappa values of κ = 0.94, κ = 0.71 and κ = 0.39, respectively, and are therefore recommended over against the direct wet mount technique in detecting hookworm.