AOAC Annual Meeting_AIMS

Phylum Apicomplexan A large group of protozoa including approximately 4000 named species.

They produce oocysts which are excreted by the definitive host and can persist in the environment.

In some apicomplexan species the excreted oocysts undergo a process called sporulation to become infectious (e.g., Cyclospora , Eimeria, Toxoplasma ).

Cryptosporidium oocysts do not sporulate.

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