Every Monday I will post a new case, as well as the answer to the previous case (you will find it below the corresponding case). Please feel free to leave a comment or your thoughts regarding the diagnosis. Enjoy!
The following egg identified from soil near a community center. As you focus up and down, you notice the egg has a thick pitted shell (Click on the images to enlarge).
Questions:
Identification?
Most likely host(s)?
Could eggs from this organism pose a risk to humans?
4 comments:
I think this is a Toxocara egg, which would most likely infect dogs. If a human ingested these eggs the larva would migrate under the skin (viseral larva migrans) but would not develop any further.
Hi Bobbi,
I think this is an egg from Toxocara canis which infects canines. When the egg is swallowed by humans, the migrating larvae can lodge in organs such as the brain, spinal cord, and eyes (a condition known as visceral larva migrans). Makes me think twice about letting a dog lick my face...
Agree. :)
These eggs are actually facinating just because their life cycle is so accelerated. Giving birth to hundreds of thousands of little ascaris lumbricoides eggs.
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