February, 2001

Case 53
A state public health laboratory submitted a formalin preserved stool specimen to CDC reference laboratory for diagnosis.  The specimen was from a middle-aged woman who had abdominal pain and diarrhea.  Her symptoms began approximately one week after she attended a social function where she ate only dessert and drank fruit punch.  She prepared all the food she ate between the social function and onset of symptoms.  Her stool specimen was processed using the FEA stool concentration method and a wet-mount slide prepared from the sediment.  Figures A and B show a side-by-side composite of objects seen in her stool using UV fluorescence and differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy.  All objects were approximately nine micrometers in diameter.  What is your diagnosis?  Based on what criteria?  What other test(s) would you recommend?

A	B

Click here for the answer to Case 53.

Case 54
A public health laboratory in the southwestern United States submitted a segmented worm to CDC's reference laboratory for identification.  A woman found the worm in the bathtub after her 5-year-old son had finished bathing.  She stated that her son had complained of abdominal pain and occasional constipation.  The whole worm is shown in Figure A.  Low-power microscopic views of different sections of the worm are shown in Figures B and C.  What is your diagnosis?  Based on what criteria?

A	B	C

Click here for the answer to Case 54.

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.