How do you detect Plasmodium in a blood smear?
Malaria parasites can be identified by examining under the microscope a drop of the patient’s blood, spread out as a “blood smear” on a microscope slide. Prior to examination, the specimen is stained (most often with the Giemsa stain) to give the parasites a distinctive appearance.
How is Plasmodium ovale treated?
Chloroquine and or an artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) are used to treat P. ovale infection and other non-falciparum malaria infections. In areas with no endemic P. falciparum malaria, and chloroquine resistance remains low, chloroquine may be used with monitoring.
How do I know if I have Plasmodium ovale?
ovale infections, red blood cells (rbcs) can be normal or slightly enlarged (up to 1 1/4×) in size, may be round to oval, and are sometimes fimbriated. Under optimal conditions, Schüffner’s dots may be seen in Giemsa stained slides. P. ovale rings have sturdy cytoplasm and large chromatin dots.
How can you tell the difference between Plasmodium vivax and ovale?
ovale are enlarged and exhibit Schüffner’s dots as the rings mature into trophozoites. The trophozoites of P. vivax are often ameboid, whereas P. ovale tends to be more compact.
When is the best time to get malarial smear preparation?
Malaria: BLOOD SHOULD BE COLLECTED IMMEDIATELY UPON SUSPICION OF MALARIA, although the optimum time is about midway between chills to ensure obtaining stages on which species identifications can be made. Since single blood smears may not reveal organisms, successive smears at 6, 12 or 24 hours are sometimes necessary.
What is smear study?
A blood smear is a blood test used to look for abnormalities in blood cells. The three main blood cells that the test focuses on are: red cells, which carry oxygen throughout your body. white cells, which help your body fight infections and other inflammatory diseases.
What treatment is given to a malarial patient?
The preferred antimalarial for interim oral treatment is artemether-lumefantrine (Coartem™) because of its fast onset of action. Other oral options include atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone™), quinine, and mefloquine.
What causes Plasmodium ovale?
P. ovale is introduced into the human host by the bite of an infected mosquito, in a motile form called a sporozoite. The sporozoites are carried by the blood to the liver, where they replicate asexually by merogony into non-motile merozoites.
What disease is caused by Plasmodium ovale?
Parasitic Infections Four protozoan species (Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium ovale) cause malaria and are transmitted by the bite of several species of female anopheline mosquitoes.
What is the incubation period of Plasmodium ovale?
The mean incubation period of P. vivax and P. ovale malaria after inoculation is 13–14 days.
How is Plasmodium falciparum identified on a blood smear?
When looking at a blood smear under a microscope, Plasmodium falciparum can be identified by the presence of a high proportion of infected red blood cells and crescent-shaped gametocytes. Identifying Plasmodium malariae on a blood smear Plasmodium malariae can be identified by its three unique characteristics:
How can you tell if RBC has Plasmodium ovale?
Lastly, close inspection of an RBC infected with P. ovale will reveal the cell’s edges are feathered. When diagnosing Plasmodium ovale, remember that infection occurs in larger cells. Look for the presence of Schuffner’s dots inside cells that are distorted into an oval shape with feathering around the edges of the cell.
What are the gametocytes of Plasmodium ovale 3?
Plasmodium ovale 3. Gametocytes P. ovale gametocytes are round to oval and may almost fill the red blood cells. Pigment is brown and more coarse in comparison to P. vivax. Gametocyte in a thick blood smear.
How to identify the type of malaria on a blood smear?
Notice just how many RBCs are infected, including some RBCs that are doubly parasitized with two ring trophozoites in one cell. Remember that P. falciparum can infect RBCs of any age. So, seeing a high-grade parasitemia, or a lot of infected cells, should immediately cue us to consider a diagnosis of falciparum malaria. Figure 1.
