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Bacteria Collection and Processing of Clinical Specimens Proper collection and handling of clinical specimens is a crucial first step in the microbiologic diagnosis of an infectious disease. No degree of laboratory expertise can correct the errors of inappropriately collected and…
Schistosomiasis (i.e., bilharzia or snail fever) is a parasitic infection caused by trematodes that reside in the circulatory system. More than 230 million people worldwide suffer from schistosomiasis, which causes a range of disease from overt clinical manifestations to subtle…
Liver and lung trematodes are hermaphroditic, zoonotic flukes that use snails as intermediate hosts ( Table 284.1 ). Snails are infected by eggs in feces passed into the environment by humans and other mammals. The snails release cercariae that encyst…
More than 70 species of zoonotic, hermaphroditic intestinal flukes can parasitize the human intestine. Most human infections are asymptomatic, but heavy infections are more likely to result in clinical disease. Adult flukes are flat and leaf-shaped, ranging in length from…
Coenurosis is human infection with larval forms of the animal tapeworms Taenia (Multiceps) multiceps and Taenia serialis. The coenurus is a fluid-filled cyst that is a few millimeters to 2 cm or more in diameter. The wall is a thin,…
Echinococcus Granulosus Description of the Pathogen Echinococcus granulosus , which causes cystic echinococcosis, is a cestode whose life cycle involves dogs and other canids as definitive hosts for the intestinal tapeworm. Domestic and wild ungulates are intermediate hosts for the…
Clinical syndromes associated with infection with Taenia species tapeworms include intestinal disease caused by adult parasites (i.e., taeniasis) and single or multiorgan inflammatory conditions associated with larval stages within tissue (i.e., cysticercosis and coenurosis). Distinguishing morphologic features of adult tapeworms…
Diphyllobothriidae Description of the Pathogens Pseudophyllidean cestodes in the family Diphyllobothriidae can cause intestinal tapeworm infections in humans. Around 16 species have been reported to cause human infections, though only six species have been confirmed with modern molecular techniques. In…
Human filariasis encompasses parasitic infections caused by several species of tiny, thread-like nematode worms that affect the skin, lymphatic vessels, and connective and subcutaneous tissues. Although rarely a direct cause of death, some filarial worms, especially the three species causing…
Tissue nematodes are parasitic roundworms that invade human tissues. Many of these nematodes are present in outdoor environments and are transmitted to children through the ingestion of nonfood substances. Most of these tissue parasites are zoonoses, with the infectious stage…