LABORATORY
DIAGNOSIS
OF
PARASITIC
INFECTIONS
Case diagnosis
 History (Age, occupation, residency, previous
infection)
 Complaint
 Clinical examination
 Invesigations
- Laboratory investigations
- Radiology
- Surgical intervention (Exploratory)
Provisional diagnosis
Confirm the diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS
DIRECT INDIRECT MOLECULAR
Urine
Stool
Sputum
Biopsy
Blood
Aspirates
PCR
DNA probes
IHAT
LAT
IFAT
ELISA
CFT
DEIDT
URINE EXAMINATION
MACROSCOPIC MICROSCOPIC
colour
white smoky
Sedimentation
concentration
Membrane filtration
Chyluria Blood
Filaria S. haematobium
Acetic acid
RBC haemolysis
Clear ova
Ether
Dissolve fat
M.f
URINE EXAMINATION
SEDIMENTATION CONCENTRATION
15-20 min Centrifuge (2 min)
Clean conical
glass receptacle
URINE EXAMINATION
Membrane filtration technique
air
10 ml urine
Nucleopore filter
Eggs of Schistosoma
+ Saline
URINE EXAMINATION
HELMINTHES PROTOZOA ARTHROPODES
• S. haem.egg
• E. vermic. egg
• S. mansoni egg
• Mf (Ov, Wb)
• H sand
• T. Vag troph
• Pthirus pubis
• L. higher deptera
URINE EXAMINATION
Egg viability
Live eggs Dead eggs
•Well defined miracidium
•Flickering F cells
•Hatching moving miracidium
•Dark colour
•Granulated
STOOL EXAMINATION
MACROSCOPIC MICROSCOPIC OTHERS
•Consistency
•Colour
•Composition
•Culture
•Cellophane tape
•Baeremann tech.
•Ova quantitaion (Stoll & Kato)
Temprory
Permanent
Diect saline smear Iodine smear Concentration techniques
Sedimentation
Floatation
Saline Formol ether Sat saline Zinc sulphate Sheather’s sugar
MACROSCOPIC EXAMINATION
COLOUR CONSISTENCY COMPOSITION Adult PARASITES
Pale=Steatorrhea
(G.l)
-Liquid (Troph)
-Formed (Cyst)
-Semi formed (Cyst)
?? Blood ?? Mucus
(dysentry)
*Ascaris worm
*E. vermicularis
*T. saginata
STOOL EXAMINATION
STOOL EXAMINATION
MACROSCOPIC MICROSCOPIC OTHERS
•Consistency
•Colour
•Composition
•Culture
•Cellophane tape
•Baeremann tech.
•Ova quantitaion
•(Stoll & Kato)
Temprory
Permanent
Diect saline smear Iodine smear Concentration techniques
Sedimentation
Floatation
Saline Formol ether Sat saline Zinc sulphate Sheather’s sugar
STOOL EXAMINATION
Temporary
Saline smear Iodine smear
saline Iodine 1%
Huge number of:
•Eggs
• Protozoal troph. Motility
(Amoeb, flagellates)
Huge number of:
•Cyst morphological details
STOOL EXAMINATION
Scanty infection
Concentration techniques
Sedimentation Floatation
• Heavy eggs (Ascaris egg)
• Operculated eggs (Trematodes)
• Larvae (Strong sterc.)
• Cysts
• Non Operculated eggs
Trematodes ( S. m.)
Cestode
Nematode(Hookworms,Trichostong)
• Cysts
STOOL EXAMINATION
MACROSCOPIC MICROSCOPIC OTHERS
•Consistency
•Colour
•Composition
•Culture
•Cellophane tape
•Baeremann tech.
•Ova quantitaion
•(Stoll & Kato)
Temprory
Permanent
Diect saline smear Iodine smear Concentration techniques
Sedimentation
Floatation
Saline Formol ether Sat saline Zinc sulphate Sheather’s sugar
STOOL EXAMINATION
Saline sedimentation
10 g stool
Saline
Mesh wire gauze
Conical flask
Sediment
Emulsify
STOOL EXAMINATION
Formol Ether Sed. Conc.
10% Formalin
1 g stool
Sediment
formalin
debris
Ether
Thorough mixing
Ether
• Ether adsorbs fecal debris & floats.
• Formalin fixes & preserves the specimen.
Conical flask centrif. tube
STOOL EXAMINATION
MACROSCOPIC MICROSCOPIC OTHERS
•Consistency
•Colour
•Composition
•Culture
•Cellophane tape
•Baeremann tech.
•Ova quantitaion
•(Stoll & Kato)
Temprory
Permanent
Diect saline smear Iodine smear Concentration techniques
Sedimentation
Floatation
Saline Formol ether Sat saline Zinc sulphate Sheather’s sugar
STOOL EXAMINATION
Floatation concentration
Sat saline Zn sulphate Sheather’s sugar
• Cestode eggs (non op)
•Nematode eggs?????
•Hookworms???????
•Trichostong‫؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟‬
•Egg of S.m.
•Eggs of small tapeworms
•Cysts
• Crypto, Iso. oocysts
Tin container
20 min Centrif. 2 min
Seive
Clean light eggs &
cysts
STOOL EXAMINATION
MACROSCOPIC MICROSCOPIC OTHERS
•Consistency
•Colour
•Composition
•Culture
•Cellophane tape
•Baeremann tech.
•Ova quantitaion
•(Stoll & Kato)
Temprory
Permanent
Diect saline smear Iodine smear Concentration techniques
Sedimentation
Floatation
Saline Formol ether Sat saline Zinc sulphate Sheather’s sugar
STOOL EXAMINATION
Permanent Stained smears
 Iron haematoxylin stain
 Trichrome stain
 Modified Ziehl Neelsen stain (Crypto.)
STOOL EXAMINATION
MACROSCOPIC MICROSCOPIC OTHERS
•Consistency
•Colour
•Composition
• Cellophane tape
• Culture
•Baeremann tech.
•Ova quantitaion
•(Stoll & Kato)
Temprory
Permanent
Diect saline smear Iodine smear Concentration techniques
Sedimentation
Floatation
Saline Formol ether Sat saline Zinc sulphate Sheather’s sugar
STOOL EXAMINATION
Kato technique
Mesh screen
Template
Hole
Remove the template
Cellophane soaked by glycerin
(clears faeces(
Egg count/ g stool
Egg quant. Of: Ascaris, T. trich., Hookworms, S. mansoni
STOOL EXAMINATION
Stoll’s technique
NaOH
4 g Stool
Erlynmeyer flask
56 CC
60 CC
Shake well 0.15 CC
Egg count/ slide
Eggs/1g= Eggs/slideX100
Egg/day=Eggs/1g X stool wt/g in 24 hrs
24 hr stool
Egg quant. Of: Ascaris, T. trich., Hookworms, S. mansoni
STOOL EXAMINATION
Baermann’s technique
Warm water
Stool/soil
seive
Glass funnel
clamp
30 min
25-50 CC

centrifuge
Detec. Of Nematode L. /stool, soil
STOOL EXAMINATION
Cultures for Nematode larvae
Filter paper culture
Scanty infection
Larvae of:
• St. stercoralis (A,L)
• Hookworms
• Trichostrong
Water
Sealed petri dish
Filter paper
Slide
DIAGNOSIS
DIRECT INDIRECT MOLECULAR
Urine
Stool
Sputum
Biopsy
Aspirates
Blood
PCR
DNA probes
IHAT
LAT
IFAT
ELISA
CFT
DEIDT
SPUTUM EXAMINATION
MACROSCOPIC MICROSCOPIC
Appearance Concentration
Bloody (Parag)
Rusty brown (Parag)
NaOH
Sputum
Centfifuge
Parasites/sputum
P living in lung P migrating in lung P resulting from rupture of
• P. westermani eggs
• St. stercoralis
• Ascaris
• Hookworm (filariform L)
• Hydatid cyst (sand)
• Amoebic abcess (troph)
BIOPSY SPECIMEN
SKIN SNIP MUSCLE BIOPSY RECTAL BIOPSY
O. Volvulus mf T. Spiralis larvae Schistosoma egg
• Raise skin by needle
• Slice by scissors
• Put snip in normal saline
• Examine
Muscle digestion with HCl + pepsin
ASPIRATES EXAMINATION
CSF Duodenal aspirates BM aspirates Cutanoeus ucler
• Afr. Tryp. (trypom)
• FLA (troph)
• M.f. of loa loa
• L. of T spiralis
• G. lamb troph
• Crypto oocyst
• St sterc. Rh L.
• Fasciola eggs
• L. donovani a,ast.
•T. cruzi amast.
•P. falciparum.
•Leishmaniasis
D. intubation
D capsule (Enterotest)
Direct stain (amast
NNN (promast)
•Lumbar puncutre
• Centrifuge
•Examine sed.
floor
Edge
DIAGNOSIS
DIRECT INDIRECT MOLECULAR
Urine
Stool
Sputum
Biopsy
Aspirates
Blood
PCR
DNA probes
IHAT
LAT
IFAT
ELISA
CFT
DEIDT
BLOOD EXAMINATION
Blood films Buffy coat films QBC technique Knott’s conc. tech.
Thin Thick
BLOOD EXAMINATION
BLOOD FILMS
 Thin 
Thick
Bld drop
spread
Air dry
methyl alcohol
Geimsa
Air dry
Geimsa
Circular motion
Malaria, Babesia, Filaria, Tryp.
BLOOD EXAMINATION
Buffy coat film
centrifuge
RBC
WBC (BC)
plasma
Citrated bld
30 min
Air dry Fix
spread Geimsa
Tryp., L. donovani
BLOOD EXAMINATION
QBC technique
centrifuge
RBC
RBC +parasite
Microhaematocrit tube
Acridine orange
Malaria, Filaria, Trypanosomes
BLOOD EXAMINATION
KNOTT’S CONC. TECHNIQUE
10 ml
1 ml
Air dry fix Geimsa

Citrated bld
Formalin 2 % sediment
2 min
centrifuge
Filaria
INDIRECT IMMUNOLOGICAL
METHODS
 Scanty infection.
 Tissue parasite no portal of exit (Hydatid dis.)
 Migratory stage (Fasciola)
 Chronic infection fibrosis (Bilharziasis)
INDIRECT IMMUNOLOGICAL METHODS
Antigen detection Antibody detection
• More specific
• More accurate.
• Active infection
• Early
• Quantitative
Ab remain in serum for
months even after cure
INDIRECT IMMUNOLOGICAL METHODS
IHAT LAT
+
Sensitized
Sheep’s RBC
(O–ve)
Ag
Patient’s serum
(?? AB)
Agglutination
+
Agglutination
Ag
Latex particle
Patient’s serum
(?? AB)
INDIRECT IMMUNOLOGICAL METHODS
INDIRECT FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY TEST
parasite
Patient’s serum
(?? AB)
Anti human AB
fluorescein
INDIRECT IMMUNOLOGICAL METHODS
ELISA
OPD
OPD
Flat bottom plastic micrititre plate
Ag
Patient’s serum
(?? AB)
Anti human AB
Peroxidase E
AB
INDIRECT IMMUNOLOGICAL METHODS
CFT
Ag
Patient’s serum
(?? AB)
complement
Anti sheep AB
Sheep’s RBC
Tube / microplate
AB
INDIRECT IMMUNOLOGICAL METHODS
Double Electro Immuno Diffusion
Ag Ab
Buffered gel
Electric current
Line of ppt
INDIRECT IMMUNOLOGICAL METHODS
Immunodiagnostic Strip Test (Dip Stick Test) Ag
Nitrocellulose strip
Monoclonal Ab
Coloured dye
Pt bld (?Ag)
Malaria, Filaria, African tryp.
DIAGNOSIS
DIRECT INDIRECT MOLECULAR
Urine
Stool
Sputum
Biopsy
Blood
Aspirates
PCR
DNA probes
IHAT
LAT
IFAT
ELISA
CFT
DEIDT
MOLECULAR BIOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES
DNA Probes
DNA Probe
Commercially prepared DNA sequence
Radio active material
Nitrocellulose paper
Sample (Serum/ stool)
?? parasite
+ve parasite
Hybridization
Radioactivity
MOLECULAR BIOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
Single stranded DNA
Replication
Detection T cruzi, T gondii

2.laboratory-diagnosis-of-parasitic-infections.ppt