COMPARISON OF MODIFIED KNOTT’S CONCENTRATION AND CAPILLARY TUBE TECHNIQUE FOR DETECTION OF MICROFILARIA IN IMMIGRANT WORKERS AT SAWANPRACHARAK HOSPITAL

Abstract

The number of immigrant workers from neighboring countries is increasing each year and this may increase the incidence of the disease for Thai people. The filariasis is one of  problems for public health in Thailand. This disease is often spread by immigrant laborers. Filariasis in Thailand is caused by Wuchereria bancrofti (W. bancrofti) and Brugia malayi (B.malayi). These two worms are carries by mosquitoes. The adult female worms release early larval forms known as microfilaria into the host’s blood circulation. People who become infected may or may not show signs and symptoms thus it is difficult to find an infected person. This study aimed to compare the efficiency of two methods of microfilaria detection, the modified Knott’s concentration and the capillary tube technique, in 31,541 blood samples of Myanmar immigrant workers. The results showed there was no statistically significant difference between the modified Knott’s concentration and the capillary tube technique. Microfilaria positive rate was 0.013% (4/31,541). The study suggests that the capillary tube technique is an appropriate method in the diagnosis and control filariasis as it requires less blood volume and time testing compared with the modified knott’s concentration.