Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Raccoon
A Massachusetts woman serves as Exhibit Number One in this regard. Unwilling to see three little
raccoons euthanized, she ignored all warnings and raised them illegally. One died three months later
and tested positive for rabies. As a result, nineteen people had to receive rabies shots at a cost of over
one thousand dollars per person!
Rabies isn't the only threat from handling raccoons, either. Enter raccoon roundworm
(Baylisascaris
cyonis),
which can pose grave risks to human health. Although this parasite hasn't previously received
much publicity, it is now becoming more widely recognized as a potentially serious problem.
This roundworm, common and widespread in raccoons, is especially prevalent in the Northeast and
Midwest. It causes a disease, known as
larva migrans,
in over fifty species of animals, including hu-
mans. Larva migrans can cause blindness and is potentially fatal. Children are especially susceptible to
this disease.
The eggs of raccoon roundworm are carried in the coon's feces and can live in the soil for years.
To make matters worse, raccoons carrying this parasite don't display any symptoms of disease, thus
making seemingly healthy “pet” raccoons a double hazard. Other animals infected with larva migrans
exhibit symptoms somewhat similar to those of rabies, and are frequently reported as rabies suspects.
Warnings about these twin hazards seem to fall on deaf ears. My own state of Vermont is currently
in the midst of an epidemic of the raccoon strain of rabies. The media and the Health Department issue
constant warnings to avoid raccoons and other potential carriers of rabies and roundworm. Despite this
barrage of publicity, my file on raccoons contains numerous bulletins from the Vermont Health Depart-
ment veterinarian, Dr. Robert Johnson, featuring pleas such as this: “We are swamped with cases in-
volving people caring for baby raccoons. Rabies and raccoon roundworms are a major concern. Leave
Wild Animals in the Wild.” It appears that so-called common sense is a most uncommon commodity
nowadays.
