Armadillo Linked to EPM

A recent study from the University of Florida found that the nine-banded armadillo is an intermediate host for Sarcocystis neurona, the single-celled protozoan parasite that causes the neurological disease equine protozoal

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A recent study from the University of Florida found that the nine-banded armadillo is an intermediate host for Sarcocystis neurona, the single-celled protozoan parasite that causes the neurological disease equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). The study was published in the most recent issue of the International Journal for Parasitology.

It is known that the opossum is the definitive host for S. neurona, and that the horse is an aberrant, intermediate host that cannot pass the parasite to other horses. In March, researchers from the United States Department of Agriculture and The Ohio State University completed the life cycle in the laboratory with the domestic cat. The goal of the University of Florida researchers was to identify intermediate hosts that allow completion of the life cycle in nature.

"Road-killed armadillos are a potential source of food to opossums, especially in Florida," said Andy Cheadle, a PhD student whose dissertation research includes this study. "At least 60-70% of armadillos are (naturally) infected with some type of Sarcocystis," he added.

The researchers were successfully able to infect one colt via the armadillo model

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Written by:

Stephanie L. Church, Editorial Director, grew up riding and caring for her family’s horses in Central Virginia and received a B.A. in journalism and equestrian studies from Averett University. She joined The Horse in 1999 and has led the editorial team since 2010. A 4-H and Pony Club graduate, she enjoys dressage, eventing, and trail riding with her former graded-stakes-winning Thoroughbred gelding, It Happened Again (“Happy”). Stephanie and Happy are based in Lexington, Kentucky.

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