Common Parasite With Uncommon Associations

Dear Editor, Filaria is a common problem in India. The infection is seen endemically in the coastal regions especially around Orissa and Bihar. 1 Incidental filariasis has previously been described in cytology smears from a wide variety of sites 1 and its presence in a bone mar aspirate was described as early as 1976. association with hematologic malignancies is limited to only an occasional case report. 3 We are describing three cases of filaria infection detected first when the patients were investigated for a suspected hematologic disorder. Case 1 A 41 year old male presented with complaints of weakness and easy fatiguablity for one year with fever for 1 month and petechial rash for 15 days. On examination, he was pale, febrile with a just palpable spleen. There was no lymphadenopathy or hepatomegaly. His hemoglobin was 12 g/dl, total leucocyte count was 98.6X10 9 /L with a platelet count of 56X10 9 /L. Differential leukocyte co peripheral smear showed 94% blasts and a bone marrow examination was advised. The bone marrow smears showed 95% blasts which were negative for Myeloperoxidase (MPO), Sudan Black (SB), Periodic acid schiff (PAS). An occasional microfilaria was identified on the SB stained slide which was sheathed with a free cephalic space and tail tip free of nuclei. On the basis of these findings, the species was identified as Wuchereria bancrofti (Figure 1 immunophenotyping, the blasts were positive for