Isospora oocytes

Microbestiary Photo Contest Third Place

About this microbe:

These photos show examples of Isospora oocytes found in the fecal sample of Lizzy, our Maine Coon  case study cat. Normally, finding this parasite is considered an insignificant finding, especially when the cat does not have diarrhea. In the case of Lizzy, the finding of so many oocytes indicated that there was a larger problem at hand, namely, an infection of two other parasites, Trich and Giardia. These infections allowed the Isospora to proliferate to a high density.

Image: Erin Bentley