September 25 - Isospora felis

Isospora felis is a coccidian parasite of cats that typically has a direct life cycle, but may also pass through small rodents , which can act as vectors for these parasites. They infect the cells of the small intestine and can produce GI distress in their feline hosts. This genus is quite large, but not much work, particularly molecular work has been done on the group, to tease apart which hosts might be paratenic and which species might be cryptic.

Image by Steve Upton.