June, 1999

Case 13
A 12-year-old boy from the Democratic Republic of Congo was diagnosed with malaria in a hospital in North Carolina.  He had arrived in the United States three weeks earlier.  Prior to his arrival, the boy spent three weeks in South Africa, and before that he was in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  On examination of his blood smear, approximately 0.3% of the erythrocytes were found to be infected.  Most (more than 97%) of the parasites observed were at the stage shown in Figures A through D.  Some other parasite stages were also observed as shown in Figures E through I.  What is your diagnosis?  Based on what criteria?

A	B

C	D

E	F

G	H

I

Click here for the answer to Case 13.

Case 14
A 67-year-old man from Mexico was seen at a health facility in Texas.  He had a history of decreasing visual acuity, redness, and irritation of the right eye for the past several months.  A corneal scraping and biopsy were performed.  Microscopic examination of the stained material yielded findings that are shown in Figure A.  The dark elements each measure 2.0 to 3.5 micrometers.  What is your diagnosis?  Based on what criteria?

A

Click here for the answer to Case 14.

Images presented in the monthly case studies are from specimens submitted for diagnosis or archiving.  On rare occasions, clinical histories given may be partly fictitious.