Case of the Week 691
This week ' s case was generously donated by Dr. Nicole Brammer Hubbard. Several of the following objects were removed from ear of a child after the parents noticed a bloody discharge (!) Identification? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - August 9, 2022 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Answer to Case 691
Answer toParasite Case of the Week 691: Fly larva, consistent withLuciliaspecies, (or as Florida Fan noted, " I love Lucy! " ) There are numerous keys for identifying fly larvae, including the freely-available CDC pictorial keys (https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/publications/pictorial_keys.htm) and a simplified key that Blaine and I published in our review onLaboratory Identification of Arthropod Ectoparasites (Clinical Microbiology Reviews). These keys are very easy to use once one is familiar with the basic morphologic parts of fly larvae (e.g., spiracular plates, mandible). Identification to the species...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - August 8, 2022 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Case of the Week 690
This week ' s case is in honor of @JMGardner who showed a beautiful example of this finding a little while ago. This one is not quite as good, but still diagnostic. The digital slide can be viewedHERE. This is a low power view:What information can be gleaned from this biopsy, and what would have been the preferred method for identification? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - August 1, 2022 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Answer to Case 690
Answer: Embedded hard tick, partially engorged with blood. As noted by Florida Fan, it is unfortunate that this tick was sectioned for histopathology, since " we need to examine the anal groove, the shield, the palpi, and the basis capitulum " in order to identify the tick to the genus and species level. This level of identification is helpful for patient management, since different species serve as vectors for different microorganisms. Additionally, finding an engorgedIxodes scapularisin a region of high Lyme disease endemicity may prompt antibiotic prophylaxis in certain situations. Without being able to ...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - July 31, 2022 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Case of the Week 689
This week ' s case is from a middle-aged woman with unexplained small bowel perforation. Here is the section with the culprit. You can view the whole slide imageHERE. What is your diagnosis? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - July 18, 2022 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Answer to Case 689
Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 689: Anisakid, most consistent with anAnisakisspecies.Hopefully you all had a change to look at the whole slide imageHERE. From its location in the small intestine, deep in the submucosa, one can envision how it may have extended through the wall of the intestine and caused a perforation. Dr. Luca Fanasca noted that " we can clearly see features consistent with an anisakid infection: multilayered cuticle (from a portion which seems detached, in the upper part), polymyarian muscle cells, the beautiful Y shaped lateral chords and the banana-shaped excretory cell. From t...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - July 17, 2022 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Bedtime Reading?
For those of you looking for some good (?) bedtime reading, you may be interested in two fun articles that Blaine Mathison and I recently wrote:Blaine A. Mathison, Bobbi S. Pritt, Sleeping with the Enemy: Everything You Need to Know about the Biology, Clinical Significance, and Laboratory Identification of Bed Bugs. Clinical Microbiology Newsletter, Volume 43, Issue 1, 2021, Pages 1-7,https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019643992030091XBlaine A. Mathison, Bobbi S. Pritt,Don ' t Be a Nit Wit; Know Your Lousy Companions! Clinical Microbiology Newsletter, Volume 44, Issue 13, 2022, Pages 115-122,https...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - July 12, 2022 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
mRNA Vaccines: From Tackling Pandemic To Treating Cancer
The story of the multi-decade uphill battle Katalin Karikó and her fellow researchers fought to prove messenger RNA can viably be used in medicine is widely known today. In just as little as two years, the world has learned about mRNA technology and how fast it can react when the need arises holding almost unlimited promises in future applications. As always is the case with “instant hits” in science, the ride was actually very long and bumpy, but more on that later.
What is mRNA?
In very simple terms: messenger ribonucleic acids (or mRNAs in short) are the body’s natural way to transport messages from o...
Source: The Medical Futurist - July 12, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andrea Koncz Tags: TMF Forecast Biotechnology Future of Medicine Nanotechnology cancer cancer research covid19 vaccine research HIV mRNA messenger RNA cancer vaccine malaria malaria vaccine HIV vaccine pancreatic cancer pancreatic cancer va Source Type: blogs
mRNA Vaccines: From Tackling A Pandemic To Treating Cancer
The story of the multi-decade uphill battle Katalin Karikó and her fellow researchers fought to prove messenger RNA can viably be used in medicine is widely known today. In just as little as two years, the world has learned about mRNA technology and how fast it can react when the need arises holding almost unlimited promises in future applications. As always is the case with “instant hits” in science, the ride was actually very long and bumpy, but more on that later.
What is mRNA?
In very simple terms: messenger ribonucleic acids (or mRNAs in short) are the body’s natural way to transport messages from o...
Source: The Medical Futurist - July 12, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andrea Koncz Tags: TMF Forecast Biotechnology Future of Medicine Nanotechnology cancer cancer research covid19 vaccine research HIV mRNA messenger RNA cancer vaccine malaria malaria vaccine HIV vaccine pancreatic cancer pancreatic cancer va Source Type: blogs
Case of the Week 688
This week ' s case features an object (of many) found in the hair of a 6-year-old girl. Identification? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - July 5, 2022 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Answer to Case 688
Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 688: Nit (egg) ofPediculus humanus capitis. As noted by Kosta Mumcuoglu, " it is the egg of the head louse,Pediculus humanus capitiswith the embryo inside (legs visible) and the operculum still on the egg. We can also see the part of the glue which was used to attach the egg on the hair. The aeropyles are in a row while in case of the pubic louse eggs they are in a triangular order. Seehttps://www.veterinaryparasitology.com/pthirus-pubis.html but alsoCase 293 in Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites. It is by the wayPthirusnotPhthirus pubis. " Kosta is correct on al...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - July 5, 2022 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
This Childhood Pet Increases Risk of Serious Mental Illness (M)
A parasite called Toxoplasma gondii is thought to be responsible for the increase in risk of mental illness. (Source: PsyBlog | Psychology Blog)
Source: PsyBlog | Psychology Blog - June 29, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jeremy Dean Tags: Child Psychology subscribers-only Source Type: blogs
Case of the Week 687
This week ' s case is generously donated by Dr. Ioana Bujila of the Public Health Agency of Sweden. The patient is a 67 year old woman from Gabon. Blood was examined by direct mount and Giemsa-stained blood films, and the following were identified:These objects are approximately 228 micrometers in length.What is your diagnosis? Are there any additional laboratory analyses that are recommended in this case? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - June 27, 2022 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Answer to Case 687
Answer toParasite Case of the Week 687: Loa loaAs noted by Florida Fan, @JuanCGabaldon, Idzi P, Ulrike E. Zelck, Priyanka Gupta, and others, the video clearly shows this to be a sheathed microfilaria, and the Giemsa smear shows the column of nuclei extending all the way to the tip of the tail, thus allowing us to make an identification of Loa loa. The patient ' s travel history (Gabon) also fits with this identification. As Idzi P. mentioned, I like to teach my students that nuclei flow-a flow-a to the tip inLoa loa -a fun learning aid! Also check out thisbeautiful infographic by @cullen_lilley f...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - June 26, 2022 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Case of the Week 686
This week ' s case was generously donated by Dr. Mike Mitchell and Laura Derderian. The following structure was seen in a stool concentrated wet mount specimen. It measures 27.5 micrometers in length. This was the only structure present in this specimen. Identification? What additional testing might also be useful in this case? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - June 14, 2022 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
