Preventing the spread of microscopic parasites

Richard Gerhold, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVM (Parasitology), associate professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, presented several educational sessions at the 2024 Fetch Coastal conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. His lectures focused on parasitology-focused topics. In an interview with dvm360, he shared insights related to his talk “Microscopic Monsters—Toxoplasma, Cryptosporidium, Neospora, Coccidia and Sarcocystis,” sharing some recommendations for preventing the spread of associated diseases. The session also covers how to spot them, and how to treat them. Additionally, when it comes to the ones that can jump from animals to humans, the lecture addresses how to stay healthy and avoid getting sick.

A transcript of the video is as follows:

Richard Gerhold, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVM (Parasitology): One major way of [preventing the spread of] toxoplasma is keeping cats indoors. So, only felines shed toxoplasma in their feces, both wild and domestic. While there's wild cats out there—bobcats, lynx, mountain lions—they're also shedding from domestic cats. And so keeping cats indoors, reducing their chance of predating on wildlife, small animals and birds—since they tend to be the host of it— and then routine veterinary care is really important.

I'd also really encourage not feeding raw meat diets, because raw meat diets can contain the tissue cyst of Toxoplasma, as well as Neospora, potentially Sarcocystis as well. And then, for as far as Giardia and Cryptosporidium, again, proper veterinary care is really important.

Also, I would say, is educating [pet] owners [and other] humans about general risk associated with certain activities. If you're around livestock—particularly young livestock, lambs, goat kids, calves—[it’s] knowing that you could be exposed to Cryptosporidium, so they can show you to wash your hands thoroughly before you touch your mouth or any place, if you get any fecal material on you to change your clothes, [and] knowing that dog parks, unfortunately, have a higher level of Giardia and Cryptosporidium.