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Parasite Case of the Week 5

Welcome back to the Parasite Case of the Week!  I post a new case every Monday, along with the answer to the previous week’s case.  Here is our new case for this week:

The following were seen in a Trichrome stained stool preparation from a patient with bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain. The objects measure 80 um in greatest dimension. Identification?

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Balantidium coli?

I agree – Balantidium seems a good answer. It looks like a large, ciliated(?) trophozoite with the “sausage-shaped” nucleus. The size (150 um) and symptoms of bloody diarrhea are features that could be found in balantidiasis.