- What is the parasite shown? (measure ~60 micrometers long)
- Why is this a suitable parasite for September?
- What is the significance of the other objects in the picture?
Monday, September 16, 2019
Case of the Week 560
This week's case is a composite photo I created for my 2019 calendar for the month of September. The accompanying questions are:
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11 comments:
Enterobius vermicularis
Although some may consider pinworms the parasite, if that indeed is the looked for answer, for someone with 2 kids in college the significance of the other objects in this picture may represent polyparasitism...
One for the kids, one for the parents ;) Kidding, love having them...not the actual parasite but the kids that is...MN bill
a parasite that is transmitted efficiently at the start of the school year because the selfemryoned eggs easily pass from the hands (unwashed) from one child to another and can also pass through the fomites
...like dirty school stuff can be.
Enterobius...found especially on children of school age and easily transmitted from patient to patient with intermediate "fomites"...collected with cellophane tape or a swoob (I call it the bum paddle).
How timely fitting, Enterobius vermicularis incidences culminates as the school year begins and after a few weeks, the parasitic burden reaches its height. As this happens, there is also a autoinfection from the hatchlings going back in to where their parents came from. Another aspect is that children are generally good hearted and love to share, be it the school utensils to Halloween candy, this multiplies the number of itchy buns even more.
For sure the Scotch clear tape is the best collection method, we need to remind the practicionners of proper collection as so often we receive opaque tape collections which we cannot use for microscopy and at times the tape is rolled up to complicate the matters in another measure.
Florida Fan
Enterobius vermicularis; an oval shaped egg with slight flattening on one side. Since September is the start of the school year in the US, schoolchildren who do not necessarily wash their hands after scratching will be in close contact, sharing the infection with their peers.
Egg collection (and hence diagnosis) can be made with applying clear tape to the affected area i.e. perianal region and performing microscopy.
The school bag perhaps reflects a transmission route of fomites, since the adult E. vermicularis migrates out at night, and children perhaps pack their bags at that time, while scratching the bothersome itch
- LS
Enterobius eggs as posted here: https://youtu.be/2vjnEZcO7I0
Mostly affects children. School time starts in September!
Ova of Enterobius vermicularis. It's back to school month! Which explains the backpack. The photo of sellotape is an indication of specimen sampling. Sellotape slides (but sometimes saline swabs) from the perianal region are the preferred specimen types.
1. Ova of Enterobius vermicularis.
2. More commonly seen in children, E. vermicularis can be transmitted more easily in crowded environments such as barracks, nurseries and schools.
3. Microscopic identification of eggs collected in the perianal area is the method of choice for diagnosing enterobiasis. To improve sensitivity, collection should be done in the morning, before defecation and washing, by pressing transparent cellulose tape (“Scotch test”, cellulose tape slide test) on the perianal skin and then examining the tape placed on a microscope slide. (https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/enterobiasis/index.html)
Enterobius
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