Today I received cody's fecal sample results and they found SARCOCYSTIS SPOROCYSTS. They vet said it can be found in other animals and if they carry this parasite it can be carried through to the meat -uncooked meat, to Cody since he eats raw. He says the parasite is not something from the dog, it will pass through. I did research on it and had a hard time finding anything that speaks of the effects of this parasite on dogs.

Can anyone refer me to a site with info on this topic. Or has anyone had their dogs pick this up?

Of course my vet is not raw diet friendly. I told him I use all human grade food, but he says that really doesn't matter, it can still be in the meat. He says some people like feeding raw some don't. I have talked with him before (he is my new vet) and he knows why I chose raw. He is passing this info on to the specialist handling Cody's case.
Thanks for any help you can give me. sharon

In most animals Sarcocystis infections are deemed to be problems only when there were major infections in sheep and pigs (and, if I recall, maybe deer and buffalo).

I don't have time right this minute, but I think you will find that the dog is not a
victim in most of their cycles ... although with some of the forms, as you have learned, the dog can be part of the cycle (like the final host, shedding the cycts in poop).

(Of course, sanitary measures are taken when handling raw meat and dog poop, regardless of what the dog is fed.)



eta
I found this quickly. It's a list with quick descriptions of the cycles: http://www.answers.com/topic/sarcocystis-2

 Quote: Sharon Empson

Today I received cody's fecal sample results and they found SARCOCYSTIS SPOROCYSTS. They vet said it can be found in other animals and if they carry this parasite it can be carried through to the meat -uncooked meat, to Cody since he eats raw. He says the parasite is not something from the dog, it will pass through.

So .... he was saying that it could affect the dog?

Or saying that it could not?


... or maybe saying that it's a form that could be transmitted to humans (without care to handle raw meat and dog poop carefully)?

I looked it up in Merck Vet.

Sarcocystis spp infections are quite prevalent in farm animals; however, there have been few outbreaks of clinical disease.

Humans may also serve as intermediate hosts and suffer myositis and vasculitis, but this tissue phase is rare, and the source of such human infection has never been determined. Human intestinal illness, with clinical signs of nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea that lasted up to 48 hr, has followed ingestion of sarcocysts of S suihominis in uncooked pork and S hominis in uncooked beef.

About 1 wk after ingesting muscle tissue that contains Sarcocystis cysts (sarcocysts), the final host begins to shed infective sporocysts in the feces; shedding continues for several months.


It goes on to discuss preexisting immunosuppression in a final host (like a dog) possibly being responsible for any actual tissue invasion in that host.

my regular vet didn't say if this was the cause of Codys problem. Just that he had it, was usually gotten by eating raw meat, since cooking destroys the parasite. And that even human grade meat carries parasites, but cooking destroys them. He was passing this info on to the specialists who handle cody's case.
I went on line and researched it too and they are vague in the problems that it can cause in dogs carrying it. The most I got from it was that it passes through a host like a dog. Can be carried in birds, racoons, oppossums, deer fecus. They can be consumed by other animals and they become a host. The results for horses is horrible, but I am not getting much about dogs. I want to see if this could have been the cause of cody's intestinal problems and what we are looking at in the recovery. We do have racoons, oppossums, skunks and coyotee here, and I know they would probably eat their fecus if given a chance. (not sure about coyotte)
I also found out that freezing meet -5 degrees for 2 days kills the parasite. I want to find out what temperature my freezer freezes to. I am concerned. I love feeding raw and the dogs seem to like it too, but now I am kinda concerned. Cody definately didn't feel well. Normally he is a very healthy active dog. All his nutritional testing he had at the other vet (my old vet who passed away) came out good. So, I am trying to get info to base further decisions on. Thank you Connie, I know you are busy and I appreciate the time it took to look this up. I am going to talk with the specialists in cody's case soon. thanks sharon

Your dog had/has no diarrhea, right?

No symptoms at all of coccidiosis?

I am honestly having trouble seeing what the vet said that you are worried about.

"He says the parasite is not something from the dog, it will pass through."

And no symptoms like diarrhea ....

I totally get it, why you are researching, etc., but did you ask the vet who said this if your dog was or could be ill from carrying the sporocysts (which, by some estimates, are shed in the feces of 40% of the dog population here and 70% in some places)?

If not, I would.

eta
Maybe Dr. Betty will see this.

We're talking coccidia, right?

I don't think freezing does anything.

Sharon, what does Cody's everyday diet look like? Try to give us a typical menu.

OK. Let's recap. Let me know if I'm missing something.

Started with morning vomits and some lethargy. Blood work came back showing low folate and cobalamin. Brings us to now.

What is going on with him right now, today? What are his symptoms?

Let me preface this by saying I'm sure you can find better information on the Internet - I will tell you what I know.
Sarcocysts are a protozoa, a tiny little guy, that lives in muscle, where it forms a cyst. You can see these cysts sometimes with your naked eye in meat(if you endured meat inspector training!). Top of the food chain type predators like dogs and cats are the final hosts. They free the sarcocyst from it's nest in the muscle and put them back into an infective state on the ground, where they are free to be consumed by another grazing critter.
In cattle, infection (eating infective sporocytes, can't remember the term) which have been shed in the feces of a cat, coyote, dog can cause abortion of the fetus --this is how I know about the agent. So --to sum up-- these bugs live in cattle, sheep etc, in their muscle tissue -- they are eaten by dogs -- after they pass thru the dog they are infective for cattle again. It's a prey to predator life cycle. Man, like the dog, can also shed the infection back to cattle by eating raw meat.
Something to worry about? Is Cody "infected"? Not likely, but whatever he ate last was, and he is "liberating" infective material into the environment. I wouldn't want him to defecate in my cow's hay. I'd find another source for his raw food.
The agent is like Toxoplasmosis. It's sort of like Coccidia too, except it lives in the muscle, not in the bowel.
Just another "agent of disease" that is present in uncooked animal tissue.

To my knowledge, it does not occur in chicken.
It's controlled on farms that have a problem with it by the feed additive amprolium.

Thank you so much, Betty!:smile: