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I don't think it's spread by horses,
horses are the end host, they can't pass it on to anything else, I THINK that's
what I just got out of my research just now (read it, I included the links, you
decide). Possums and possibly Armadillos pass it on to horses. In cats, it's
different, CATS can not pass it to horses, because they are an intermediate host
and they only host the sarcocysts (aka, inactive) from of the protozoa, first
the cat has to poo, and a possum has to eat the cat poo to "activate" the
bradyzoite form of the protozoa (the form that causes problems in
horses), and HORSES can NOT pass it to cats, as horses do not excrete it in
their feces, it manifests itself in horses' spines and stays there. It's usually
not a problem in cats either, form what I read, it usually just lies dormant in
their muscles, and causes no damage.
"Sarcocystis neurona is a parasitic protozoan which is the most important cause of a serious neurological disease of horses called equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). S. neurona also causes EPM-like disease in other mammals including cats, mink, raccoons, skunks, sea otters and Pacific harbor seals ( Dubey et al., 2001). While the life cycle of S. neurona is not fully understood, it is known that opossums (Didelphis virginiana, D. albiventris) are its definitive hosts. Recent studies from Michigan and Florida reported S. neurona antibodies in 5% of domestic cats based on Western blot analysis (Gillis et al., 2003; Rossano et al., 2002). This suggests a more widespread problem in domestic cats than was previously thought. Serological detection of this parasite is not very sensitive and not very specific. Many infected cats are carriers and shed the sporocysts in their feces. Molecular detection by PCR can offer a rapid, sensitive and specific method for determining the infection status of an animal." "It has the most unusual life cycle for any species of Sarcocystis as unlike other species of Sarcocystis, S. neurona has wide host range for its intermediate hosts. Opossums (Didelphis virginiana, D. albiventris) are its definitive (reservoir) hosts and excrete oocysts and sporocysts (environmentally resistant stage)in their feces. Raccoons, armadillos, sea otters, skunks, cats and possibly other mammals are intermediate hosts. These animals ingest the sporocysts , which after many asexual cycles, lead to the development of sarcocysts (resting stage) in their muscles. Infection of the final host is by the ingestion of the sarcocysts from the muscles of the intermediate hosts. The bradyzoites are released in the intestines of the definitive host. They undergo a sexual cycle and this ultimately result in the production of sporulated oocysts, which are excreted in the feces of the opossum. Horses are considered its aberrant hosts because only schizonts and merozoites (no sarcocysts) have been identified , confined to the brain and spinal cord." SEE LINKS FOR
MORE INFO:
Kinda makes you wonder what it does in HUMANS, doesn't it? Lemme
see....
Ah here we go (it's so rare that it's hard to find good research about it
in humans):
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What is EPM?
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No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.13.28/518 - Release Date: 11/4/2006
