What do possums do to horses?

Answer: The disease is equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, or EPM, and is transmitted from opossums to horses when they eat or drink where infected opossums have defecated. The organism responsible for EPM is a parasite, Sarcocystis neurona, a protozoan or microscopic single-cell organism.Click to see full answer. Also asked, do possums carry diseases fatal to horses?While other animals may carry the protozoa in their body, only opossums can transmit EPM. The feces of opossums contain sporocysts and that is how they transmit the disease. It is this neurological damage that can cause the various symptoms of EPM. Horses with EPM cannot pass it onto other horses.Also, do opossums kill horses? Horses can become infected with EPM by coming into contact with opossum feces while grazing or by ingesting feed contaminated by an opossum carrying S. neurona. Horses cannot pass the disease to one another, so there’s no need to isolate affected horses out of fear of spreading the disease. Then, what do horses get from possums? And one common neurological disease affecting American horses is equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). Horses may develop EPM after ingesting feed or water contaminated with Sarcocystis neurona, a one-celled organism called a protozoan, that is spread by opossums and carried by other animals.What does EPM do to horses?Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, known as EPM, attacks the horse’s central nervous system and causes inflammation and damage to the brain and/or spinal cord. EPM is passed on to the horse when they consume feed contaminated by opossum feces.