Wikipedia is miss-leading then. It starts out with this quote.
"Coccus (plural cocci or coccuses) can be used to describe any bacterium that has a spherical shape."
So I thought I was reading about Cocci
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccus
Further reading on other sites about coccidiosis I see...
I agree FancyChookLady, "medicated" starter food is for cocci. It is what I use. I don't want my chicks all getting sick, spreading cocci around, and dying because I'm worried about it being in their eggs 9 mo later. I've never had a cocci case on my property ever.
Cocci is bacteria not a infectious disease or virus such as Marecks disease in chickens, parvo in dogs, or flu/cold in humans.
Becoming immune to a certain virus by pre exposure to it is true, but cocci is not a virus.
Cocci usually shows up in the very young or animals that have compromised...