Get Ready for Filariae!

Dear Readers, I'm delighted to announce that March and April are Filariasis Months courtesy of Idzi Potters and the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp! 

Image by Blaine Mathison

You may want to brush up on your filariae/microfilariae diagnostic skills in preparation. Here are a few resources to help you:

1.  World Health Organization Bench Aids for the Diagnosis of Filarial Infections. Available here: https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/diagnosticprocedures/index.html (see the section on filariasis near the bottom right of the page)
2. CDC DPDx - Laboratory Identification of Parasites of Public Health Concern:
• Lymphatic filariasis
• Mansonellosis
• Loiasis
• Onchocerciasis
3. Mathison, Couturier, and Pritt Diagnostic Identification and Differentiation of Microfilariae. J Clin Microbiol 2019. https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.00706-19

Stay tuned for more!

Case of the Week 738

This week's case was donated by Dr. Sheldon Campbell. The following object was noted in fresh sole.   

Interestingly, it was still alive!

 What parasite is present here? 

After carefully removing the worms, the sole was breaded in cornmeal and fried. Looks delicious! 

Would you eat this?

Answer to Case 738

Answer to the Parasite Case of the Week 738:  Probable anisakid larva in fresh fish (sole). This is a great reminder to cook your fish well before eating! Alternatively, freeze it for 7 days at -20 C before eating it raw. The final dish that Dr. Campbell created looked quite tasty (sans worms). 

Not just a few readers noted that they might have some hesitation in eating the final product. 😂

One reader commented that generous application of lemon juice to the thawed fish prior to cooking does a great job in removing any live worms (and may result in a mass exodus!) However, this is only a good solution if you like the taste of lemon 🍋.

Thanks again to Dr. Campbell for sharing this great case!

Case of the Week 737

 This week's case was generously donated by Dr. Richard Bradbury. The is a permanent mounted stool sample from a Gambian child with watery diarrhea. It is stained with iron haematoxylin; objects of interest are approximately 10-15 micrometers long. 

Check out the video for a 3D view and classic motility pattern!