Rapid and inexpensive method of diluting Giemsa stain for diagnosis of malaria and other infestations by blood parasites.

摘要

For more than a century, Giemsa stain (2) has been used for the staining of blood parasites. The fixation of blood smears in methyl alcohol or the use of the May-Grunwald staining solution (1) is followed by the use of Giemsa stain for 25 to 30 min. Giemsa stain (3 ml) is diluted with buffered distilled water (100 ml) and is the stain of choice for demonstrating the presence of parasites in blood smears.Distilled water was used for dilution purposes many years ago by chemists because of its purity. Since distilled water is slightly acid, it was necessary to buffer it to obtain a pH of 7.0 to 7.4, with the optimum pH being 7.2 to 7.4. This buffered distilled water-Giemsa stain solution is excellent for the stain-. ing of blood parasites and particularly for use in cases of malaria, where Maurer's clefts, characteristic of Plasmodium falciparum, are readily evident in blood smears (4).