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Case #246 – February, 2009

A microbiologist at a public health laboratory contacted DPDx for diagnostic assistance for identifying a tapeworm proglottid received at their lab. A wet mount was prepared from some of the transport media, and eggs morphologically-consistent with those of Taenia were observed. The DPDx Team recommended that the submitter clear the proglottid with lactophenol until the uterine branches could be observed and counted. If the branches were still difficult to see, it was recommended that India ink be injected into the genital pore. Figure A shows the image that the submitter emailed to DPDx for confirmation. What is your diagnosis? Based on what criteria?

Figure A

This case and image were kindly contributed by the Orange County Public Health Laboratory in Santa Ana, California.

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

DPDx is an educational resource designed for health professionals and laboratory scientists. For an overview including prevention, control, and treatment visit www.cdc.gov/parasites/.