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Monthy Case Studies - 2002
Case #75 - January, 2002
A patient sought treatment for fever, fatigue, and myalgias. She reported no recent international travel. Below are images of Giemsa stained blood smears from the patient's specimen (Figures A, B, C, and D). What is your diagnosis? Based on what criteria?
Answer to Case #75
This was a case of babesiosis caused by Babesia spp. Diagnostic morphologic features included:
- the presence of only ring forms in the images.
- characteristic Maltese cross arrangements of the merozoites of Babesia sp., a diagnostic feature that is not always seen in stained blood smears (Figure B).
- the absence of pigment in the infected red blood cells.
More on: Babesiosis
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.