Medical Microbiology

622 LaboratoryDiagnosisofParasitoses

&Helmintheggs(withoutEnterobius):onetotwospecimensofSAFstool,

orbetteryet 10 – 20 gfreshstool.Withlargeramountsoffreshstool,concen-

trationmethodscanbeused,thusimprovingthechancesofparasitedetec-

tion.

&Enterobius(oxyurid)eggs:adhesivetapeonslide.

Inthemorning,presstheadhesivesideofapieceoftransparentadhesivetape

about 4 cmlongand 1 cmwideontotheperianalskin,thenstripitoffand

presstheadhesivesidesmoothlyontoaslide.Submittolaboratoryorexam-

ineunderamicroscope.

&LarvaeofStrongyloidesorhookworms:about 10 – 20 gfreshstool(unre-

frigerated)forexaminationusingtheBaermanntechniqueandforpreparing

alarvalculture.

&Coproantigens:parasiteantigensexcretedinstool(coproantigens)can

be detectedusingpredominantly theELISA. Laboratory proceduresor

commercialkitsarenowavailablefordiagnosingvariousintestinalparasites,

includingGiardia,Cryptosporidium,Entamoeba,andTaenia.

Blood

&Malariaplasmodia

Important:thebloodspecimenmustbetakenbeforecommencementof

malariatherapy,ifpossibleattheonsetofafebrileepisode.Sendthematerial

tothelaboratorybythefastestmeansavailable!

5 – 10 mlEDTAblood(totestforPlasmodiumfalciparumantigen,forblood

smearsand“thickfilm”preparations).

Ifpossible,addtwotofourthin,air-driedbloodsmears(forGiemsastain-

inganddetection/identificationofPlasmodiumspecies).

&Otherbloodprotozoa(trypanosomes,Babesia): 5 – 10 mlEDTAblood.

&Microfilariae: 5 – 10 mlbloodwithEDTA.Important:takebloodsamples

inaccordancewithperiodicityofmicrofilariae(Table 1 0. 4 ,p. 51 9),eitherat

nightorduringtheday.

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Kayser, Medical Microbiology © 2005 Thieme