What is that worms in blood ?

[bluewave65]

Hi,

is anyone recognizing that wormly looking something ?


Thanks
dave

[Peter]

Hi Dave,
Looks like a dust particle to me.
Peter.

[zzffnn]

It does not look a worm. More likely a dust fiber.

[SunshineLW]

I agree with the latter comments in that this does not appear to be a hematoparasite. Assuming that this blood sample was taken from a peripheral vessel (rather than a great vessel or visceral vessel, such as the pulmonary arteries), you would not expect to see a nematode that large. Blood-borne nematodes are generally members of the order Spirurida. Adult stages (i.e., larger nematodes) tend to persist in a stationary location within the lumen of the blood vessel, such as the adult stages of canine heartworms within the pulmonary arteries. Only the immature stages (i.e., smaller nematodes) of these parasites are found in normal circulation. These immature stages are known as microfilariae, and are typically the same size as, or smaller than, RBCs because they are utilizing the same transportation system, including narrow, tortuous capillaries.

Notice how this microfilaria of Dirofilaria immitis (canine heartworms) is about as wide as the nucleus of the surrounding cells (~15-20 micrometers): https://flic.kr/p/ZZMkxU