Raccoon Diseases And Parasites Long Island New York

Raccoons may harbor ectoparasites like fleas, ticks, mites, and lice. Raccoons are often infested with cat fleas, the most common flea to infest cats and dogs. Mites are close relatives of ticks and are amongst the smallest insects, with most barely visible in the absence of magnification. The most prevalent ectoparasitic dermatoses brought about by mites is mange, and when it is passed on to human beings, it is referred to as scabies. The Bubonic Plague also called the Black Death, is the most well-known flea-transmitted disease. Fleas also transmit Murine Typhus, Cat Scratch Disease, Feline Distemper, Mycoplasma Haemofelis, and tapeworms. Ticks are hosts to pathogens that can cause human diseases, including Lyme Disease.

Rabies is a severe viral disease that specifically attacks the gray matter of raccoons and other mammals' brains and central nervous systems, resulting in encephalitis. In the United States, raccoons, bats, skunks, and foxes are primary carriers of the rabies virus. Rabies is a zoonotic disease that is almost always fatal if not treated promptly. The rabies virus is found in the infected raccoon's saliva, so rabies is usually transmitted via a bite from a rabid animal. However, rabies can also be spread if the infected animal's saliva gets into your mouth, nose, eyes, or an open wound. If a raccoon bites you or your pet, you need to cleanse the animal bite wound with soap and water and seek medical services immediately for yourself or your pet. Vaccination after exposure is highly successful in preventing rabies. Early symptoms of rabies may include fever and tingling at the bite wound. These symptoms are accompanied by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, anxiety, uncontrollable movements, paralysis, confusion, and loss of consciousness. Once neurological symptoms of rabies appear, the result is almost always death, regardless of treatment.

It is impossible to determine if a raccoon is rabid based on its behavior. Other diseases, such as distemper or exposure to certain toxins, may cause a raccoon to display rabid-like behavior. Testing is required to definitively determine whether or not an animal is infected with the rabies virus. Contact Nassau County Nuisance Wildlife Removal Services, and one of our wildlife removal professionals will trap the raccoon and have the animal tested for the rabies virus by the Nassau County Department of Health. Should you see a raccoon during daylight hours, this does not automatically mean that the raccoon is rabid. Lactating female raccoons with raccoon pups are frequently seen during the day foraging for food. Rabid raccoons generally will have trouble walking, stagger as though they are drunk, look confused and disoriented, and are lethargic. Raccoons infected with the rabies virus will make repeated high-pitched vocal sounds have watery eyes and foam at the mouth, and the fur on their face will look wet and tangled. A raccoon infected with the rabies virus may become aggressive or seem very tame and display no fear of people. A rabid raccoon is usually dead within one to three days of becoming infectious. Raccoon rabies vaccine baits are distributed from Maine to Alabama by the USDA and its partner agencies. The vaccine baits don't cure rabies in raccoons that are already infected. The rabies vaccine baits are preventative and, when eaten by enough raccoons, result in herd immunity and give the virus nowhere to go.

Canine distemper is an extremely infectious viral disease of carnivores. Canine distemper is also called footpad disease because it causes the animal's footpads to thicken and harden. The virus can be found in an infected animal's saliva, urine, feces, or respiratory secretions and is spread via the air and by direct or indirect exposure to an infected animal. Canine distemper initially attacks a raccoon's tonsils and lymph glands and replicates itself there for about a week. The virus then affects the respiratory, urogenital, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems. In the primary stages of canine distemper, the significant symptoms include high fever, conjunctivitis, and a watery discharge from the eyes and nose of the raccoon. An infected raccoon will become anorexic and lethargic, and diarrhea is an obvious symptom. In the later stages of canine distemper, the virus begins attacking the other systems of the raccoon's body, especially the central nervous system. The brain and spinal cord are affected, and the raccoon may start to wander aimlessly in a circle, be disoriented and unaware of its surroundings, experience paralysis, or exhibit other peculiar behaviors as a result of brain damage. The symptoms of canine distemper are not distinguishable from, and therefore frequently mistaken for, the signs of rabies. Canine distemper can wipe out entire raccoon colonies.

Toxoplasmosis is a disease brought about by a protozoan parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. Feral and domestic cats are the primary hosts of T. gondii, which reproduces and matures inside these animals. The parasite is most commonly spread by contact with cat feces. Toxoplasmosis in raccoons is usually associated with immunosuppression resulting from an infection with canine distemper. The disease can lead to chronic illness or even death in a raccoon with a weakened immune system.

Feline distemper, also called cat plague, cat fever, feline infectious enteritis, feline agranulocytosis, and feline panleukopenia virus, is a very contagious disease caused by the feline parvovirus. The virus affects the rapidly dividing blood cells of the body, particularly the cells in the bone marrow, intestinal tract, and skin. Raccoons will experience a high fever, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, and extreme leukopenia. The disease seldom lasts more than a week, and mortality rates are incredibly high.

Canine parvovirus, also known as parvo, or parvovirus type 2, results in myocarditis and intestinal inflammation (gastroenteritis) in raccoons. It is closely related to the feline panleukopenia virus. Raccoons can carry this pathogen without symptoms and are also susceptible to their own strain of parvo called raccoon parvovirus. The virus is spread when an animal ingests the feces of an infected animal. Parvoviruses are incredibly hardy and can survive for months in a cool, moist environment that is protected from sunlight.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease spread through infected raccoons' urine. Leptospirosis can get into the water or soil and survive for several weeks to months. Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that affects both animals and humans. In humans, it can cause a broad range of symptoms, some of which could be mistaken for other conditions. Some infected people, however, may have no symptoms at all. In the absence of treatment, leptospirosis can result in kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death.

Baylisascaris infection is brought about by the raccoon roundworm found in raccoon feces. The raccoon roundworm can infect human beings as well as a variety of other animals, including canines. Although raccoons usually show no symptoms when infected with the intestinal parasite, the larval form of Baylisascaris procyonis can result in death or severe neurologic complications in people if not treated immediately.