EFFICACY OF AN IMMUNO-MAGNTIC SEPARATION SYSTEM FOR RECOVERING CRYPTOSPORIDIUM OOCYSTS FROM SOILS

Studies were conducted to determine the efficacy of the commercially available immuno-magnetic system by Dynal^TM to recover C. parvum oocysts from silty clay, sandy clay loam and clay soils. Each soil type was spiked with known numbers of oocysts and their recovery using percoll-sucrose gradient centrifugation in combination with immuno-magnetic separation system was evaluated. The recoveries varied significantly. The silty clay loam soil had the highest recovery ranging between 91% and 26%, while the sandy clay loam had the lowest recovery ranging between 30% and 2%. The results indicate that though the Dynal^TM IMS system is capable of recovering oocysts from soils, the recovery efficiencies can vary significantly.