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Get Ready for Filariae!
Dear Readers, I ' m delighted to announce that March and April areFilariasis Monthscourtesy of Idzi Potters and the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp! Image by Blaine MathisonYou may want to brush up on your filariae/microfilariae diagnostic skills in preparation. Here are a few resources to help you: World Health Organization Bench Aids for the Diagnosis of Filarial Infections. Available here: https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/diagnosticprocedures/index.html (see the section on filariasis near the bottom right of the page)CDC DPDx - Laboratory Identification of Parasites of Public Health Concern:Lymphatic fi...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - February 15, 2024 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Case of the Week 738
This week ' s case was donated by Dr. Sheldon Campbell. The following object was noted in fresh sole.  Interestingly, it was still alive! What parasite is present here? After carefully removing the worms, the sole was breaded in cornmeal and fried. Looks delicious! Would you eat this? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - February 7, 2024 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Answer to Case 738
Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 738:  Probable anisakid larva in fresh fish (sole). This is a great reminder to cook your fish well before eating! Alternatively, freeze it for 7 days at -20 C before eating it raw. The final dish that Dr. Campbell created looked quite tasty (sans worms). Not just a few readers noted that they might have some hesitation in eating the final product. 😂One reader commented that generous application of lemon juice to the thawed fish prior to cooking does a great job in removing any live worms (and may result in a mass exodus!) However, this is only a good solution if you like...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - February 6, 2024 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Case of the Week 737
 This week ' s case was generously donated by Dr. Richard Bradbury. The is a permanent mounted stool sample from a Gambian child with watery diarrhea. It is stained with iron haematoxylin; objects of interest are approximately 10-15 micrometers long. Check out the video for a 3D view and classic motility pattern! (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - February 1, 2024 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Answer to Case 737
 Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 737:Pentatrichomonas hoministrophozoites. P. hoministrophozoites have 5 flagella: 4 are directed anteriorly, while the 5th is directed posteriorly, forming the outer edge of an undulating membrane. This results in characteristic motility that Richard likes to describe as " a man trapped inside a plastic bag " (!)  I managed to capture a couple of still images from the video which show this phenomenon:As noted by jebarner, P. hominis,as well asEnteromonas hominis,  Retortamonas intestinalis, andChilomastix mesnili are non-pathogens and indicators of ...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - January 31, 2024 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Case of the Week 736
The following arthropods were submitted to the lab for identification from a daycare center. What is your identification? What are the implications for this facility? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - January 25, 2024 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Answer to Case 736
Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 736:Cimexsp., the human bedbug. Nymphs and an adult are present. The two species ofCimexthat infest humans areC. lectularius(the common bedbug) and its tropical relative, C. hemipterus.As noted by Idzi and Florida Fan, the setae (hairs) are shorter than the width of the eye, which allows us to rule out other cimicids of birds and mammals that may temporarily infest human habitats.Tanya Gravier provided a helpfullinkfrom the US Environmental Protection Agency on dealing with bedbug infestations in child care centers. As noted by Idzi, the risk is not with disease transmission...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - January 24, 2024 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Parasite Case of the Week 735
This week ' s case features a liver cyst (6 cm in diameter) that was removed and send to the parasitology laboratory for evaluation. The following images were taken by our fabulous Education Specialists, Felicity Norrie. Identification?  (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - January 17, 2024 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Answer to Case 735
 Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 735:Echinococcusspecies.The diagnosis can be made by the finding of the characteristic protoscoleces. As noted by Florida Fan, " On a closer look, the hooklets are clearly visible as well as the numerous calcareous particles. Since there is one cyst, the indication is that the agent isEchinococcus granulosis.A Hamburg-based Oregon alumni further noted that forE. granulosus, " The liver is the most frequent location of echinococcal cysts (approx. 70% of cases). The lungs are the second most common location. "Thanks again to Felicity from my lab to taking these beautiful phot...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - January 16, 2024 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Case of the Week 734
Welcome to the first blog post of 2024! I had been particularly busy last year as I was serving as the Interim Chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic. Now that the permanent Department Chair has arrived, I can go back to my ' day job ' of Chair of Clinical Microbiology and Director of the Clinical Parasitology laboratory. I anticipate being able to go back to regular posting again as well. So without further ado, here is our case this week, courtesy of Heather Morris, the Parasitology Technical Specialist in my laboratory. The following objects were found in a concentrated wet prep...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - January 11, 2024 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Answer to Case 734
 Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 734:Entamoeba colicysts. As noted by Florida Fan and Mary Lois Smorenburg noted, these cysts can be easily recognized by their large size and number of nuclei (>4). These are the most definitive features of this organism and allow it to be differentiated from similar-appearingEntamoebaspp. such asE. histolytica.Other supportive features pointed out by Mary Lois Smorenburg and Dr. Satishkumar Krishnan are the eccentric karyosome within each nucleus is and the irregular splinter shaped chromatoid body.Thanks again to Heather Morris for donating our first case of 2024! (Sou...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - January 9, 2024 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Case of the Week 733
 This week ' s case is by Idzi Potters and theInstitute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp. The following object was removed from a furuncular skin lesion in a patient with recent travel to Uganda. Once they were able to keep it still (!), Idzi captured the following photographs demonstrating all of the diagnostic features. What is your identification? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - December 7, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Answer to Case 733
 Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 733:Cordylobia anthropophaga,myiasis causing fly larva. Florida Fan painted an accurate picture of this parasite with his vivid description: " The mango fly, aka Tumbu fly, lays eggs on human clothing hung to dry in the sun. The Man-Eating larvae hatching eats its way into the skin of its prey. The three sinuous slits are definite identification clues. Ironing the clothes dried outdoor kills the eggs and prevent a myasis infection. The video clearly exemplifies the voracious nature of The Beast. " Very apt!The adult female fly also commonly lays her eggs on sandy soil conta...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - December 4, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Case of the Week 732
Welcome back to all of my US readers from the Thanksgiving holiday. Here is a fun case with the answer embedded - just listen to the audio with the video. Or if you ' d prefer, keep the volume down and give your best guess on what you think this is! This case is donated by Dr. Jessica Lin and her colleague who is field physician in Tanzania.  The patient is a 4 year old boy with anal pruritus and history of passing worms from his anus. Several white-tan worms measuring ~5mm long were examined: (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - November 27, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Answer to Case 732
 Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 732:Enterobius vermicularis(pinworm) adult female. As noted by Florida Fan, " Well, this is a classic situation. Children by nature are very altruistic, sharing their prize possessions (e.g., M&M ’s). The asymmetric eggs with a flat side and a convex side are commonly shared in this fashion. " The appearance of the eggs is also called planoconvex or " D " shaped. Anonymous mentioned that the extensive uterine reproductive system of the fertilized female worm is often completely filled with with these eggs.If you watched the video, you could see the movement of the egg...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - November 26, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs