Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites

Several hairs from the groin region of a 24 year old male were submitted to the Clinical Parasitology lab for examination.  One hair contain...

Answer:  nit (egg) of Pthirus pubis , the crab louse You can differentiate this nit from the similarly appearing nits of the head and body...

The following is a skin biopsy from an ulcerating lesion on the left thigh of a 70 year old woman.  She is being treated with chemotherapy f...

Answer:  Trophozoites and Cysts of Acanthamoeba species/ Balamuthia mandrillaris  A multiplex PCR for free-living amebae...

The following was seen in a Giemsa-stained thick peripheral blood film from an immigrant from Congo.  The patient reports focal swelling and...

Answer:   Loa loa The key features that aid in identification are the presence of a non-staining sheath (below, arrows), short head space ...

The following were seen on Giemsa-stained peripheral blood films from a 2 year old boy with recent travel to Kenya.  Images are taken at 100...

Answer:   P. falciparum with early trophozoites (ring forms) and schizonts.  Also shown (last photo) is a monocyte with malaria pigment (hem...

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...