A method similar to the one currently in use in a several laboratories in South Africa was compared to other internationally used methods. Recommendations made were that an adapted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) method be adopted to measure helminth ova based on the fact that this technique demonstrated a greater recovery rate than the rest of the procedures. While the original intention was to adopt this adapted EPA method for South Africa, with some refinement to suit the local context, a local group in South Africa also recently reported the development of an improved recovery protocol, the Ammonium Bicarbonate/Zinc Sulphate (AmBic/ZnSO4) method for the detection of helminth ova (particularly Ascaris). The method documented in this manual is based on an adapted EPA method which allows a better recovery of helminth ova using the relative specific gravities of the ova of different helminth species, and the AmBic/ZnSO4 method for the detection of helminth ova in soil-based samples. The resulting method is based on the strengths of both methods and has been tested to determine its suitability and appropriateness for the South African context. The method, which is based on a combination of washes, filtrations and flotations, has been adapted into three separate procedures to suit the main groups of waste products, viz.

• šwastewater or effluent, š
• wet sludge, and š
• dry or composted sludge and UD waste.