How can coccidiosis be transmitted?

Coccidiosis is a parasitic disease caused by protozoa from the genus Eimeria, and its transmission primarily occurs through contact with affected animals, their feces, or contaminated soil. The oocysts excreted by infected animals can survive in the environment for extended periods, making soil and other surfaces contaminated reservoirs for the pathogen. When a healthy animal comes into contact with these contaminated surfaces or ingests oocysts while grooming or feeding, it can become infected.

While the other choices touch on various methods of disease transmission, they do not accurately represent how coccidiosis spreads. For example, training interactions generally do not involve direct exposure to the pathogens responsible for coccidiosis. Feeding affected meat is not a recognized route of transmission for this particular disease, as the parasites typically reside in the intestines of the host rather than in muscle tissue. Air exposure is also not a mechanism through which coccidiosis spreads, as the protozoan oocysts are not airborne but rather persist in fecal matter and contaminated environments. Therefore, the correct understanding is that contact with impacted animals and contaminated surfaces is the primary transmission route for coccidiosis.