Introduction to Blood Parasites: It May Be a Bloody Mess, But It Is Worth Knowing

 

Blood parasites represent a global burden of disease, particularly due to malaria being a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Blood parasites are critical to detect and treat and require different techniques for not only lab testing but also specimen collection. The most common blood parasites are reviewed in this presentation with a strong focus on best practice for microscopy as well as adjunct methods of diagnosis for unique clinical presentations.

Originally published on December 4, 2023

Lecture Presenters

Marc R. Couturier, PhD

Marc R. Couturier, PhD

Professor of Pathology (Clinical)
University of Utah School of Medicine
Medical Director, Emerging Public Health Crises, Parasitology/Fecal Testing, and Infectious Disease Antigen Testing
ARUP Laboratories

Dr. Marc R. Couturier is a medical director of emerging public health crises and microbial immunology, parasitology and fecal testing at ARUP Laboratories and a professor of pathology at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Dr. Couturier graduated from the University of Alberta with a doctorate degree in bacteriology. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Alberta Provincial Laboratory for Public Health and a medical microbiology fellowship at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Dr. Couturier is certified by the American Board of Medical Microbiology. He has received the Outstanding Teaching Award in Clinical Pathology, the Bill Roberts Award for Excellence in Laboratory Medicine, and the Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Young Investigators Award. His research interests include helicobacter pylori diagnostics and developing improved diagnostics for emerging agents of infectious gastroenteritis.

Blaine A. Mathison, BS, M(ASCP)

Blaine A. Mathison, BS, M(ASCP)

Adjunct Instructor
University of Utah School of Medicine
Research and Development Scientist, Parasitology Specialist
ARUP Laboratories

Blaine Mathison is currently a scientist in the Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology at ARUP Laboratories in Salt Lake City. Mr. Mathison has been studying parasitology for over 20 years, including working at the Institute of Parasitology at the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic, the Arizona State Health Department, and the CDC, where he managed the DPDx website for nine years. He has published extensively on parasitology and entomology—the latter is also a personal hobby.

Objectives

After this presentation, participants will be able to:

  • Discuss the role of lab testing in blood parasite diagnostics
  • Recognize the major genera of blood parasites
  • Describe the clinical associations and syndromes of major blood parasites

Sponsored by:

University of Utah School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, and ARUP Laboratories