Quantitative comparison of various methods for detecting eggs of Toxocara canis in samples of sand

Six techniques for recovering unembryonated Toxocara canis eggs from sand samples were tested for efficiency and suitability for routine use. The tests were done under standardised conditions on 50g of sand samples contaminated experimentally with 10, 100 and 500 eggs of T. canis. Best result was achieved by the method of Dunsmore et al. [Dunsmore, J.D., Thompson, R.C.A., Bates, I.A., 1984. Vet. Parasitol. 16, 303-311]. The results were expressed as the number of T. canis eggs recorded and percentage rates of recovery in sand samples.