Assessment of platelet count is an important diagnostic parameter in haematology. Automated blood cell counters have largely replaced the manual method. However, all abnormal platelet counts are verified in Leishman's stained peripheral blood smear. Platelets also can be identified in the unstained blood smears. The objective of this study is to compare the unstained peripheral blood smears wit...

Quantitative Buffy Coat analysis and blood smears were performed on a total of 47 blood samples. The technique showed 100% correlation with the blood smears in 9 samples containing babesia and 10 samples containing malaria, with some differential features distinguishing the two infections. Quantitative Buffy Coat analysis provides a simple and rapid method for the detection of parasitemia in ca...

Giemsa-stained blood smears are mainly used for microscopic examination to diagnose malaria. However, they may also be subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to confirm diagnosis or for retrospective studies requiring the analysis of old smears. We investigated the possibility of DNA contamination occurring during automated Giemsa staining or due to the failure to clean the oil-immersion ...

The aim of this study was to develop quantitative real-time (q)PCR assays to detect all known haemoplasma species, and a human housekeeping gene in order to demonstrate both successful DNA extraction from clinical samples and to test for sample inhibition, and to apply these qPCRs to human blood samples and blood smears. Sensitive and specific generic haemoplasma qPCR assays were developed to a...

background: the mainstay of diagnosis of relapsing fever (rf) is demonstration of the spirochetes in giemsa-stained thick blood smears, but during non fever periods the bacteria are very scanty and rarely detected in blood smears by mi­cros­copy. this study is aimed to evaluate the sensitivity of different methods developed for detection of low-grade spi­ro­chetemia. methods: animal blood sampl...

background and objectives: anaplasma phagocytophilum is a zoonotic, tick borne rickettsial pathogen. a. phagocytophilum has been detected in north america, europe, africa and asia by molecular methods. in iran we have little information about the distribution of this agent in human and animals. materials and methods: from march 2007 to july 2007, one hundred and fifty blood samples and correspo...

An 8-day-old newborn female twin Holstein calves with a history of weakness, anorexia, emaciation and convulsion were presented to Tabriz University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. On admission, the calves were febrile and recumbent. Physical examination revealed many ticks from the external body surface of the animals, right and left prescapular lymphadenopathy, severe opisthotonos, nystagmus, p...