Monday, May 19, 2008

Case of the Week 22

Alex made the following movie for me, based on some footage I took during my daily commute. Caution: contains music; Turn your speakers either up or down!



Questions based on the movie:
1. List 5 infectious diseases spread by mice.
2. Mice can act as reservoirs for which parasitic infections?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

1. and 2. Rat bite fever (Streptobacillus moniliformis, Spirillum minor)
3. Hanta virus
4. LCMV
5. Plague & Leptospira?
6. heebie jeepies (right Pritish?)

Reservoir for Babesia & toxo.

Just remember, these rhyming species carry lots of nasties: rats, bats, & cats (not sure about wombats...)

Anonymous said...

I've been diagnosed w/Ascaris lumbricoides. I live in the U.S. It (they) has really done a number on me; as it has also caused Vertigo. I took a pic of one of them - it's about 6". I FINALLY see a GI Doc this Friday, 5/23.

Any info you can provide on these nasty things would be great!
Thanks!!

ParasiteGal said...

Dear Anonymous,
I'm sorry to hear about your Ascaris infection. I would check out the following link to information from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). It should give you all of the information you need. Good luck!
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/ascaris/default.htm

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the info. I've been to that site & probably about 1000 more!

I have found the process of learning about parasites somewhat fascinating (& scary of course).

What degree does one need to practice the studying of parasites? It might be of interest for me to go back to school.

Thanks...
Pam

ParasiteGal said...

Dear Pam,
Parasitology is definitely a fascinating subject! I have a medical degree and am trained in both Pathology and Microbiology. However, you don't have to be a doctor to work in Parasitology. I'm also getting a degree currently at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in London, U.K. My degree is in Medical Parasitology and it is an excellent course. You need a bachelor's degree in order to apply. However, you will want to think of what type of job you would want when you graduate. You could go on to get your PhD in a parasitological field, or you may want to work in a clinic laboratory (diagnosing patient specimens). If the latter interests you, I would recommend a degree in Clinical Laboratory Science, which includes not only parasites, but also bacteria, viruses, and fungi. It's more diverse, so it would give you more job options. Hope that helps. I'd be happy to talk to you more about this. You can email me at b_pritt@yahoo.com.
Bobbi