Molecular detection of common intestinal parasites: a performance evaluation of the BD Max™ Enteric Parasite Panel.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of agreement of the BD Max™ Enteric Parasite Panel (EPP) with microscopy for the detection of Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium spp. and Entamoeba histolytica in stool samples. A total of 372 stool samples (partly collected on the basis of positive microscopy and partly unselected, consecutive sample submitted for parasite investigation) were tested with EPP according to manufacturer's instructions and also using microscopy according to standard techniques.