Welcome to Parasitology EQAS

Organized by
The Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory (WTRL)
Christian Medical College, Vellore.

About us

The Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory (WTRL), Division of Gastrointestinal Sciences at Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore is a leading multi-disciplinary clinical and public health research laboratory with advanced equipment in areas of microbiology, virology, parasitology, cell culture (including organoids), molecular biology with NGS, immunology (with FACS), biochemistry and pathology (with electron microscopy facility).

Diagnostic Services: Since 2004, WTRL has been offering parasitology diagnostic services in CMC, Vellore receiving approximately 300 to 350 samples per day, with annual turnover of >90,000 samples. A majority of samples received are for microscopy-based detection of parasites in stool samples. Specialized stains used for parasite identification include Modified Ziehl-Neelsen, Standard Trichrome, Modified Trichrome, Giemsa, and Field stain. The frequently detected parasites are Giardia duodenalis, Hookworm, Strongyloides stercoralis, Ascaris lumbricoides, Rodentolepis nana, and Enterobius vermicularis.

PT Co-ordinator

Dr. Sitara Swarna Rao Ajjampur, MD, Ph.D, FASc
Senior Professor of Microbiology

Technical Manager

Dr. Ramya M., MD, Dip RCPath, DTM&H
Assistant Professor of Microbiology

Quality Manager

Ms. Renita Ruth S.
Associate Research Officer

Laboratory Supervisor

Ms. Selvi Laxmanan
Gr. Medical Laboratory Technician

Monthly case discussions

April, 2025

An 8-month-old boy from a peri-urban slum presented with frequent, loose and watery stools (6-7 episodes per day) for the past 2 months. His mother mentioned that he was fed formula and cow’s milk and was recently introduced to solids. On examination, he was stunted but otherwise healthy. A provisional diagnosis of persistent diarrhoea was…

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March, 2025

A 33-year-old man from Bihar, residing in Salem, Tamil nadu for 10 years, presented with an 8-year history of erythematous chin lesions and upper-lip & right nostril involvement with swelling for 3 years. A biopsy from the lesion was sent for culture and subsequently PCR. The culture fluid showed the following on day 14. Answer…

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February, 2025

A 62-year-old man from Tamil Nadu presented with a six-month history of nocturnal cough with shortness of breath.  He was previously diagnosed with chronic rhinosinusitis, and uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. Blood investigations revealed eosinophilia. A transbronchial lung biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma with mucinous features. Cytological analysis of BAL sample is provided below. Answer Follow the discussion in…

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