Imagine meeting the person who not only wrote your college parasitology textbook, but wrote the last five editions spanning 25 years. Your professor referred to it as the “Garcia book,” rather than by its name: Diagnostic Medical Parasitology. And now Lynne Garcia is in the Center for the Advancement of Laboratory Science at the State Hygienic Laboratory updating you on parasitology.

Gathered following the Diagnostic Medical Parasitology Update are (front row, from left) Kathy Hebbeln, clinical lab technical specialist; Lynne Garcia, presenter for the update; Stephany Cochran, clinic lab analyst; and Jaye Boman, clinical lab analyst. In the back row are (from left) Wade Aldous, associate director, Disease Control Division; Mike Last, retiree; and Jennifer Elwood, clinical lab technical specialist. A well-known parasitologist and author, Garcia held the workshop on April 9 at the Hygienic Laboratory’s Center for the Advancement of Laboratory Science.

Garcia led a diagnostic medical parasitology workshop on April 9 at the Hygienic Laboratory that drew laboratorians from universities, hospitals and independent labs in seven states: Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Iowa. The workshop gave the 33 attendees the opportunity to learn from someone often referred to as “the guru of parasitology.”

Garcia, a leader in the field of diagnostic parasitology for more than 30 years, is director of LSG and Associates, a consulting firm in the field. She has authored five editions of ASM's Diagnostic Medical Parasitology and is editor-in-chief of Clinical Laboratory Management in the 21st Century. She has been the parasitology section editor for several editions of ASM's Manual of Clinical Microbiology and has served on numerous ASM editorial boards: the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Clinical Microbiology Reviews, and Cumitechs.

The workshop emphasized a practical approach to testing, and included reviews and updates of basic parasitology. This was comprised of ordering supplies, collecting specimens, processing, testing and reporting.

Also discussed were the five species of human malaria and the problems of blood parasite infections coming from Iraq and Afghanistan. These infections increasingly are found in the United States, and parasitologists need to be more aware of their relevance, according to Garcia. Additionally, risk management issues regarding the mishandling/misdiagnosis of infections were discussed.