Patti & Michael Discuss GI Parasites

A parasite is an organism that lives in a host and takes its nourishment from that host. In the GI tract, their presence can manifest in many ways. The main classes of parasites include protozoa, roundworms, tapeworms, and flukes. Whenever Patti & Michael have questions about microbiology, they turn to Jim Kelton who has been part of the microbiology department at Genova for nearly 20 years. In this episode, we get Jim’s take on parasitosis and clarify the methodologies for detecting parasites.

“We developed fire back in the Stone Ages for a reason, and one of them was to cook fish.” – Jim Kelton

 

Today on The Lab Report:

3:40 Scienceness, Technicology, and Machine-a-mechanics: Jim Kelton is back!

4:40 Prevalence of parasitosis and the question of underdiagnosis

7:05 Are there commensal parasites?

11:40 Using different kinds of PCR to assess parasites

15:25 “But I saw a worm in my stool, and your lab missed it!”

17:05 Differentiating different ova/eggs

18:50 Microscopy and quantification scales

20:50 Sushi: Friend or foe

23:00 Parting thoughts and fun facts about parasites

 

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