This should be turned into an article!I often see users refer to coccidiosis in chickens on the site and usually the terms "coccidiosis", "coccidia", and "cocci" are used as if they are one in the same. But they are actually two different organisms. I worked at a veterinary hospital for 10 years and have seen both.
So coccidia are a single celled parasite that normally infect the intestinal tract. I saw it a lot in kittens and puppies, only maybe 2 cases of an adult dog with it. We treated it with oral Albon suspension. This is what coccidia looks like under a microscope. Coccidiosis is a coccidia infection.
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Ok, now for cocci. Cocci is a round, spherical shaped bacteria that's common in most animals, but sometimes they have an overgrowth which leads to issues. I saw it a lot in dogs and cats with ear infections, skin infections, and even in poop smears of diarrhea. Yes a poop smear is just what it sounds like. Smear some poop on a glass slide, heat fix it, stain it, look at said poop.
You treat an overgrowth of cocci differently than coccidia because they are two different organisms. Cocci is a bacteria. In GI infections we usually treated with Reglan to regulate gut motility and probiotics to regulate the growth of bad bacteria. After that and a week of eating a bland diet, most dogs (and cats) were back to normal. This is what cocci looks like under a microscope. This is actually a picture of staphylococcus, a type of cocci bacteria.
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I hope this was helpful. I often see people talking about cocci and coccidiosis as if they are one in the same. I was thinking it would be bad if someone were trying to treat for coccidiosis perhaps, and use a treatment for cocci, not knowing they were two different things.
Treslilbirds
Everyone that says cocci instead of coccidiosis really needs to read this thread.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccidiosis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccus
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However, I don't think it is an issue in poultry.
