The Relationship of Baylisascaris procyonis to Illinois Raccoons (Procyon lotor)

Snyder, Daniel E.; Fitzgerald, Paul R.

doi:10.2307/3281430

Cited by 31 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Wise et al (7) and Shafir et al (8) did a breakdown of prevalence data presented elsewhere (1) and found that 58% of 3,967 raccoons examined in the midwestern United States were infected, 64% of 476 in the northeastern/mid-Atlantic region were infected, 4% of 1,868 in the Southeast region were infected, and 49% in the West/Southwest were infected. Most studies have reported a higher prevalence of the parasite in juvenile raccoons than in adult raccoons (1,9,64), although there are also reports where the ages (or genders) of infected animals did not significantly differ (65,66).…”

Section: Raccoons As Source Of Infectionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Update on Baylisascariasis, a Highly Pathogenic Zoonotic Infection

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARYBaylisascaris procyonis, the raccoon roundworm, infects a wide range of vertebrate animals, including humans, in which it causes a particularly severe type of larva migrans. It is an important cause of severe neurologic disease (neural larva migrans [NLM]) but also causes ocular disease (OLM; diffuse unilateral subacute neuroretinitis [DUSN]), visceral larva migrans (VLM), and covert/asymptomatic infections.B. procyonisis common and widespread in raccoons, and there is increasing recognition of human disease, making a clinical consideration of baylisascariasis important. This review provides an update for this disease, especially its clinical relevance and diagnosis, and summarizes the clinical cases of human NLM and VLM known to date. Most diagnosed patients have been young children less than 2 years of age, although the number of older patients diagnosed in recent years has been increasing. The recent development of recombinant antigen-based serodiagnostic assays has aided greatly in the early diagnosis of this infection. Patients recovering with fewer severe sequelae have been reported in recent years, reinforcing the current recommendation that early treatment with albendazole and corticosteroids should be initiated at the earliest suspicion of baylisascariasis. Considering the seriousness of this zoonotic infection, greater public and medical awareness is critical for the prevention and early treatment of human cases.

show abstract

Section: Raccoons As Source Of Infectionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Update on Baylisascariasis, a Highly Pathogenic Zoonotic Infection

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Juveniles have a significantly higher prevalence of infection (93.5%) than adults (55.3%), the highest rate of egg shedding, and consequently a greater potential for environmental contamination (58). The higher parasite burden of juvenile raccoons (mean burden, 48 to 62 worms) than in adults (mean burden, 12 to 22 worms) likely reflects differences in mechanisms of infection (13,43,58 which stick to their mother's fur or contaminate the den and its surroundings (29,43). Adult raccoons, in contrast, ingest thirdstage larvae during predation or scavenging of infected intermediate hosts.…”

Section: Life Cyclementioning

confidence: 99%

Baylisascariasis

2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARY The raccoon roundworm, Baylisascaris procyonis, is the most common and widespread cause of clinical larva migrans in animals. In addition, it is increasingly recognized as a cause of devastating or fatal neural larva migrans in infants and young children and ocular larva migrans in adults. Humans become infected by accidentally ingesting infective B. procyonis eggs from raccoon latrines or articles contaminated with their feces. Two features distinguish B. procyonis from other helminthes that cause larva migrans: (i) its aggressive somatic migration and invasion of the central nervous system and (ii) the continued growth of larvae to a large size within the central nervous system. Typically, B. procyonis neural larva migrans presents as acute fulminant eosinophilic meningoencephalitis. Once invasion of the central nervous system has occurred, the prognosis is grave with or without treatment. To date, despite anthelmintic treatment of cases of B. procyonis neural larva migrans, there are no documented neurologically intact survivors. Epidemiologic study of human cases of neural larva migrans demonstrate that contact with raccoon feces or an environment contaminated by infective eggs and geophagia or pica are the most important risk factors for infection. In many regions of the United States, increasingly large populations of raccoons, with high rates of B. procyonis infection, live in close proximity to humans. Although documented cases of human baylisascariasis remain relatively uncommon, widespread contamination of the domestic environment by infected raccoons suggests that the risk of exposure and human infection is probably substantial. In the absence of early diagnosis or effective treatment, prevention of infection is the most important public health measure.

show abstract

“…Although the raccoons' residence or metal cages and soil possibly contaminated with ascarid eggs were thoroughly flamed by a portable propane torch, feces-contaminated wooden pedestals under metal mesh cages remained unflamed. Juvenile raccoons are known to be highly susceptible to ascarid infection [23,24]. Further, interruption of regular ascaricide treatment permitted luminal growth of B. procyonis that survived the first and/or second ascaricide treatment in the intestinal wall.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemiological Aspects of the First Outbreak of Baylisascaris procyonic Larva Migrans in Rabbits in Japan

Sato

Kamiya

Furuoka

2003

The Journal of Veterinary Medical Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. Larva migrans caused by the common raccoon ascarid, Baylisascaris procyonis, is a zoonotic disease of critical importance in North America. Recently we encountered the first proven outbreak of this disease in Japan in domestic rabbits ( Oryctolagus cuniculus) in a small wildlife park. In this park, raccoons (Procyon lotor) had been kept for 9 years, and one raccoon was donated to the park by a pet owner 8 weeks prior to the occurrence of an outbreak in rabbits. Of 12 total raccoons, three raccoons including the donated one shed B. procyonis eggs in the feces, and two of these positive raccoons were kept in metal mesh cages on wooden pedestals, 2 m distant from the rabbit enclosure. Circumstantial evidence indicates that the donated raccoon is the likely source of this outbreak. Treatment of the raccoons with an ascaricide and decontamination by extensive flaming of the cages and the contaminated dirt floor of the park achieved a transient disappearance of ascarids from all 12 enclosed raccoons. Three months after the control measures began, recurrent ascarid infection was detected in three young raccoons of less than 1.5 years of age. The potential risk of serious zoonosis by B. procyonis as well as the difficulty in a clearance of contaminated areas should be considered by pet owners and public health workers in Japan.

show abstract

The Relationship of Baylisascaris procyonis to Illinois Raccoons (Procyon lotor)

Cited by 31 publications

References 0 publications

Update on Baylisascariasis, a Highly Pathogenic Zoonotic Infection

Update on Baylisascariasis, a Highly Pathogenic Zoonotic Infection

Baylisascariasis

Epidemiological Aspects of the First Outbreak of Baylisascaris procyonic Larva Migrans in Rabbits in Japan

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About