A Young Child Catches A Rare Raccoon-Related Disease
A Young Child Catches A Rare Raccoon-Related Disease
Raccoons are mainly known for carrying rabies, but there are other diseases that humans can catch from raccoons. One toddler from the United States has recently contracted a very rare disease called Baylisascariasis, or raccoon roundworm. The toddler caught the disease by ingesting raccoon droppings. Raccoon roundworm can infect many raccoons, but infected raccoons rarely show any signs of illness. The boy that became ill is under the age of two, and after being hospitalized, the boy is expected to make a full recovery.
Raccoons shed roundworm eggs in their feces and in parts of their environment. After a couple of weeks the roundworm eggs become infected. Not everybody survives a roundworm infection, and many of those who do survive the infection will go on to experience neurological problems for the rest of their lives. Obviously, since toddlers are just learning to move around, and since their curiosity often leads them to put objects in their mouths, they are at particularly high risk for infection, but any person of any age can contract roundworm disease. In fact, even your pets can contract the disease.
According to Dr. Vance Kawakami, if enough of the roundworm is consumed, the roundworm eggs will hatch within the intestines. From there, the parasitic-larvae can spread to other parts of the body, causing illness. The symptoms of this illness depend on which parts of the body the parasite visits. But the symptoms can range from nausea to acute blindness and loss of motor coordination.
Raccoon roundworm is an extremely rare disease as only twenty nine people have become infected with the disease in the United States since 1973. People can become infected by inhaling contaminated dirt or by cleaning out areas where raccoons were active. Luckily, raccoon roundworm cannot spread from person to person.
Have you ever physically touched a raccoon in the wild? If you have, then how did the raccoon respond?