UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN AFRICA, BARATON

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SCIENCES

AN ASSIGNMENT DONE IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE

COURSE:

BASIC CLINICAL PARASITOLOGY

COURSE CODE: CLSC 253

LECTURER: WALTER LELEI

STUDENT NAME: DOREEN JEPNGETICH

ADMISSION NO: SJEPDO2211

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 13/11/2022

KATO KATZ TECHIQUE

INTRODUCTION

Kato Katz technique is used for qualitative and semi-quantitative diagnosis of intestinal

helminthic infestations; caused by  Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, hookworm, and

especially Schistosoma spp. The technique is recommended method to detect soil transmitted

helminth eggs in stool samples, particularly in programmatic settings

PRINCIPLE

The Kato-Katz technique facilitates the detection and quantification of helminth eggs that

infected subjects pass in their stool. A thick smear is prepared on a microscopic slide and

helminth eggs are enumerated under a light microscope and recorded separately for each

helminth species. Subsequently, the prevalence and intensity of helminth infections can be

determined.

People infected with STH or intestinal schistosomes pass the eggs of the worms through their

feces.  In the Kato-Katz technique, feces are pressed through a mesh screen to remove large

particles. A portion of the sieved sample is then transferred to the hole of a template on a slide.

After filling the hole, the template is removed and the remaining sample is covered with a piece

of cellophane soaked in glycerol. The glycerol clears the fecal material from around the eggs.

The eggs are then counted and the number is calculated per gram of feces.

MATERIALS

1. Kato-set (template with hole, screen, nylon or plastic, plastic spatula)

2. Newspaper or glazed tile

 3. Microscope slides

4. Cellophane as coverslip soaked in a glycerol-malachite green or glycerol-methylene blue

solution.

5. Fresh stool

6. Gloves

PROCEDURE

 A glass slide is labelled with the sample number and then place a plastic template 

 A small amount of the fecal sample is placed on a newspaper and a piece of nylon is

pressed on top. A spatula is used to scrape the sieved fecal material through the screen so

that only the debris remains.

 Some of the sieved feces is scraped to fill the hole in the template, avoiding air bubbles

and leveling the feces off to remove any excess.

 The template is lifted off carefully and placed in a bucket of water mixed with

concentrated detergent so that it can be reused.

 One piece of the cellophane, which has been soaked overnight in methylene blue glycerol

solution, is then placed over the fecal sample.

 A clean slide is placed over the top and pressed evenly downwards to spread the feces in

a circle. The slide is carefully removed by gently sliding it sideways to avoid separating

the cellophane strip. If done well, it should be possible to read newspaper print through

the stool smear. Place the slide with the cellophane upwards.

EXAMINATION AND RESULTS

The slide is placed under a microscope and examination of the whole area in a systematic zigzag

pattern is done. The number and the type of each egg of each species is then recorded on a

recording form alongside the sample number.

 The advantages of Kato-Katz

1. Its low cost

2. short sample preparation time

3. simple handling

4. Need of only basic equipment

Disadvantages of Kato-Katz

Low sensitivity for low STH infection intensities, hookworm eggs disappear after one hour and

samples and slides for hookworm cannot be stored