Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of lyme disease, coloured SEM.

We have an outbreak of this relatively rare disease in the province so I have been seeing more lyme serology requests. The first signs of infection include a bullseye rash around a tick bite (not always seen), followed by fever, aching joints and muscles, fatigue and chills. Some patients have neurological and muscular problems long after the infection. More serious cases can lead to recurrent meningitis, heart problems and arthritis.

Macrophages attacking larva (microfilaria, white) of Wuchereria bancrofti, the causative agent of elephantiasis.

False color SEM of Aspergillus sp conidiophore. I lost the source on this so if someone has it, please send it my way!

Apologies for the slow goings lately; I’ve had a mess of things on my plate (pun intended). Hopefully things will pick up soon.

SEM of bacteria in deer stool.

I picked it for the campylobacter-like organisms in there (brown corkscrews). Despite being fastidious and sometimes tricky to grow, a good lab should be able to isolate more Campylobacter sp. than shigella and salmonella combined since it is the most common bacterial cause of diarrhea in humans.

Coloured SEM of a macrophage engulfing a mauve Leishmania sp. parasite.