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Answer to Case 724
 Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 724:Giardia duodenalistrophozoites and cysts.Florida Fan eloquently described the characteristic motility pattern ofGiardiatrophozoites: " Beautiful autumn leaves falling in the wind in a sliding side to side motion. " He also notes that "Giardiatrophozoites and cysts can present a little challenge to parasitologists at times. Most of us are used to see the typical kite-shaped trophozoite with its nuclei, sucking disks and flowing flagella. When these trophozoites turn sideways, we may see only ạ leafy profile, and when they stand on their tails they will look like the kid nex...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - August 15, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Case of the Week 723
This week ' s case was donated by Dr. Nancy Wengenack and the Mycology lab at Mayo Clinic. These objects were found in a fungal culture for dermatophytes (lactophenol blue stain). What are they, and what is their significance? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - August 1, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Answer to Case 723
Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 723: mite, not scabies. Given that this mite was found in a fungal culture from skin scrapings, it could very well be a dust mite (Dermatophagoidessp.) as many of you suggested. However, mites are challenging to identify, so genus/species level identification is best left to the acarologists (people who study mites and ticks). The biggest concern here is its location - on a fungal culture in the mycology laboratory. Mites are a terror in the mycology lab. They crawl from plate to plate, contaminating and destroying cultures from patient samples. In most cases, the culture plates ...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - July 31, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Case of the Week 722
 This week ' s (rather disturbing) case was generously donated by Dr. Niels Olson. This is a parasite found in salmon throughout the world - sorry sushi lovers - no slight is meant against any commercial provider of salmon. Parasitism is a fact of life. What is the likely identification of this parasite? What would happen if it was ingested without cooking or freezing? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - July 16, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Answer to Case 722
Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 722: anisakid larvae, one of the members of theAnisakis simplex, Pseudoterranova decipiens,or Contracecum osculatumcomplex. Humans can become transiently infected with the larvae when they are ingested in undercooked fish, such as this salmon. The larvae may embed in the gastric or intestinal mucosa, causing intense pain. Endoscopic removal is curative. In less severe cases, the larvae will migrate back up the esophagus and out the mouth - a much preferred (but disturbing!) alternative. They can also be passed in the stool. In these settings, the larvae have to be differenti...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - July 15, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Case of the Week 721
 Happy American Independence day (July 4th) and a belated Canada day (July 1st)! As an American, this weeks case very appropriately has a lot of red, white, and (purple-ish)blue. The following round objects were seen in a stool specimen on modified acid fast. The patient has had more than 1 week of profuse watery diarrhea and abdominal discomfort.These objects were also highlighted with using calcofluor white fluorescence staining (arrow) along with stool flora.What are these objects? Are they fungus or parasite? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - July 5, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Answer to Case 721
 Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 721:Cryptosporidiumsp. oocysts. These oocysts are a parasite, even though they stain with the non-specific calcofluor white fluorescent dye. Also, the abbreviation " crypto " is often used to refer to eitherCryptosporidium(parasite) orCryptococcus(fungus), so it ' s always good to make sure you audience know what you were talking about!Cryptosporidiumspp. oocysts are one of several intestinal parasites that stain red with the modified acid fast stain;Cyclosporaspp. andCystoisospora belli are the other two. Note that these 3 parasite genera are commonly referred to as coccid...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - July 3, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Case of the Week 720
This week ' s case is generously donated by Dr. Nazia Nagi from Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi. The patient is a young, HIV-positive, adult male with diarrhea. The following structures were seen in a wet mount and modified Ziehl-Neelsen stained stool preparations. They measure approximately 35 micrometers long. Identification? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - June 25, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Answer to Case 720
 Answer to theParasitology Case of the Week 720:Cystoisospora belli oocystsThese oocysts are easy to differentiate fromCyclosporaandCryptosporidiumoocysts based on their large size and ovoid shape. Thanks again to Dr. Nazia Nagi for donating this classic case! (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - June 24, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Case of the Week 719
This week ' s case is very timely! The following objects were seen on a modified safranin-stained stool specimen. They measure approximately 8 to 10 micrometers in diameter. Identification?40x objective:100x objective: (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - June 20, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Answer to Case 719
 Answer to theParasite of the Week 719:Cyclosporasp. oocysts. WhileCryptosporidiumspp. oocysts have a similar appearance, they are smaller thanCyclosporaoocysts, measuring only 4-6 micrometers in diameter. Note thatCyclospora oocysts do not stain uniformly with either the modified acid fast or modified safranin methods, although there tends to be fewer unstained oocysts with the latter. The microwave modification of the safranin stain will also improve the staining uniformity (see the CDC procedureHERE).As Dr. Marc Couturier pointed out on Twitter, there are now three morphologically-identical species o...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - June 19, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Case of the Week 718
Welcome back to our first case of the month, with a special case from Idzi Potters and theInstitute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp.  The following structures were found in a bronchoalveolar lavage from a middle-aged Belgian patient with asthma who presented with increased shortness of breath. He reports no travel out-of-country and works as an administrator at an insurance company. He recently reported an insect infestation in his home.Video credits are for Monique Vatlet (CHU Ambroise Par é, Mons, Belgium).Identification? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - June 5, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Answer to Case 718
 Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 718: ciliated epithelial cells; NOTLophomonas. Many of our readers suspected this case to representLophomonas blattarum- a flagellated protozoan parasite of cockroaches - but there is no convincing evidence thatLophomonas is actually a human parasite. Also, there are a number of helpful features that can differentiate ciliated human epithelial cells fromL. blattarum:1. Human ciliate epithelial cells have a well-defined terminal bar with a compact row of short cilia (arrows) rather than the tuft of long flagella possessed byLophomonas.  This is nicely demonstr...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - June 3, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Case of the Week 717
 This week ' s classic case was generously provided by Florida Fan. The following was seen in a Giemsa-stained peripheral blood smear. No additional history is available. Diagnosis?Each division on the ruler is 2.5 micrometers; the object is slightly less than 250 micrometers long.  (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - May 10, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs

Answer to Case 717
 Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 717:Brugia malayiThis case was a little bit tricky in that the tail didn ' t show a clear terminal and subterminal nucleus as expected forB. malayi. However, the tail nuclei were separated, there is a long head space, and the sheath stained deep pink with Giemsa (the latter being a ' soft ' feature). To confirm the findings, many of you rightly noted that you would try to get the patient ' s travel history and also look for other microfilariae in this specimen.B. malayiis restricted to Asia and SE Asia and is a cause of lymphatic filariasis. Thanks again to Florida Fan...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - May 7, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs