Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites

The following was found on the scalp of a 6 year old boy.  Identification?  

Answer:  Louse - Pediculus humanus .  It is not possible to differentiate the head and body louse by morphology alone, but the history sugge...

The following were seen in a Giemsa-stained thin blood film from a child from Cameroon. Identification?

Answer:   Plasmodium ovale Marco Ligozzi and Dr. Rajani nicely described the features of P. ovale : "The parasitized erythrocytes a...

Best wishes for the holidays from Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites

Answer:  Kissing Fleas!  ( Ctenocephalides sp. - dog and cat flea)   From Blaine Mathison who really outdid himself on this one: Twa...

The following were found in the stool of a 20 year old woman.  She is otherwise asymptomatic.  The objects measure 2 to 3 mm in length. ...

Answer:   Dipylidium caninum proglottids Although this patient is much older than usual for  D. caninum infection, the appearance of these...

This week's case was generously donated by Dr. Bryan Schmitt and Dr. Ryan Relich (Microbe Man). An HIV positive man from the U.S. pres...

Answer:   leishmaniasis , presenting as atypical perianal and rectal wart-like lesions (see below for patient follow up) As Anon and Flori...