How long can EPM survive in hay or paddocks without opossums?

It is possible for tapeworm eggs to survive months after being passed by your pet but they then require an additional 'intermediate' host before reinfecting your pet dog or cat. The most common type is passed through fleas and these can last for over a year before developing fully (other rarer types are passed through raw meat including rodents etc if cats catch mice). It is helpful to get your vet to confirm the type of tapeworm in order to understand the cycle of infection - using an insecticidal household flea spray is essential to break the flea/tapeworm life cycle

Hello. Whipworms can remain in the ground for 5 years. There is no practical solution once the ground is contaminated. The recommendation is to worm your pet(s) with a product that gets whipworms several times a year, or use a heartworm preventative monthly that is labeled to control whipworms ( I like Interceptor Plus ). Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

This virus is unfortunately very stable in the environment and can survive years at room temperature. A 1:32 dilution of household bleach should be used to disinfect environment (without getting in contact with the cat!!). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Even though the other horses tested positive and Chance could have EPM, we cannot rule out other causes including orthopedic disease. I would advise you to consult a veterinarian and have him tested for EPM.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Roundworm eggs survive for months to years in soil and in other environments. I don't think changing the garden location is necessary if you clean all the vegetables really well when harvesting them. You can change the location if you want but how would you know all of the places that the cats have soiled? You are absolutely right to be concerned about your family, especially young children. Make sure that your children wash their hands very well after scooping if they clean the litter box or help you in the garden. Wear gloves when gardening also. This also helps prevent the transmission of toxoplasmosis which is a big concern for women who are pregnant. Great question. Good luck. Deworming is the way to prevent a lot of problems with parasites.

So sorry to hear this happened :( E. cuniculi is a protozoan parasite. Encephalitozoon Cuniculi Facts: * E. cuniculi are shed only in the urine. * Infectious period lasts only a few days to a few weeks. * The infected animal is not contagious after the E. cuniculi leave the kidneys. * E. cuniculi are carried in the blood to other parts of the body, particularly nervous tissue. * Spores from infected urine can remain in the environment for a month. * The parasites can infect and be shed by many other animals but seldom cause clinical disease in other animals. * A high number of rabbits have been infected at some time during their life, but few come down with the clinical disease. * Animals who are compromised are more likely to manifest clinical disease. * Neurological damage can be evident long after the parasites leave the kidneys. * Necropsies (autopsy) seldom show active parasites in the kidneys but may show scarring where the parasites have been. * Testing positive to the parasite only means that the animal has been exposed and is putting forth an immune response. It does not mean that an otherwise healthy animal will show symptoms of the disease. * Serology tests recognize immune response but do not distinguish early infections from long term or chronic infections. So, as you can see it is a very complex disease. Likely all your rabbits have been exposed already so whether or not you use her cage is a moot point. My suggestion is that if you want to use her cage I would bleach it before using it for others just to be on the safe side. I would use a 1:32 dilution of bleach to water. Soak the whole cage and leave it sit for at least 10-15 minutes before rinsing thoroughly. Here is a good article about E. cuniculi: https://www.petcha.com/treatment-and-prevention-of-e-cuniculi-in-rabbits/ Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hello. Exposure to the infection may result in a positive PCR test, but does not mean the horse is an active shedder. There could still be dead bacteria present for a long time, which will still be PCR positive but they are not shedding live, viable bacteria that can infect another horse. To blame one horse over another is pretty silly, especially if the PCR positive pony has ever lived anywhere else. This may be something to discuss with your veterinarian who might suggest doing some nasal cultures, but if your animals have always been healthy, then it is up to the stud owner to pay for the testing. Otherwise, I really do not know what they hope to accomplish by blaming your horses. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.