Coccidian parasite can withstand a wide range of chemical and physical factors, contributing to their food- and water-borne transmission to humans worldwide. Eimeria acervulina has been proposed as a non-human pathogenic alternative of Toxoplasma gondii to assess food and water decontamination, however it is not known whether the two parasites exposed to chemical and thermal treatments parallel in terms of oocyst structure and infectivity. Using bioassays and lectin-based assays combined with flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy analyses, this study shows that E. acervulina and T. gondii oocysts display similar response to heating and/or freezing and bleach or NaOH treatments, as in maintaining infectivity, with E. acervulina oocysts retaining their size and structure better than T. gondii. Collectively, these results suggest that E. acervulina is a reliable model for studying the response of T. gondii oocysts to certain chemical and physical agents.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exppara.2025.109049