Detection of a Small Number of Cryptosporidium parvum Oocysts by Sugar Floatation and Sugar Centrifugation Methods

Detection rates from the samples including a small number of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts were compared between the sugar floatation and the sugar centrifugal floatation methods. As the results, the oocysts were detected from 70 and 80 of 100 samples including 6.0 × 102 and 1.0 × 103 oocysts per 1 ml by the floatation method, respectively, whereas from 52 and 53 of the same samples by the centrifugal floatation method. Therefore, it was considered that the floatation method is the most suitable method for the detection from samples including a small number of Cryptosporidium oocysts. It is also suggested that results of the sugar floatation method were reliable for samples including more than 1.0 × 103 oocysts /ml.