School of Public Health, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana.
City of New Orleans Mosquito, Termite and Rodent Control Board, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2020 Jan;20(1):22-26. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2019.2498. Epub 2019 Aug 15.
, the raccoon roundworm, is considered an emerging zoonotic disease in the United States after being identified in raccoons captured in different US regions and metropolitan areas. Humans can become infected with after ingesting mature roundworm eggs, sometimes resulting in fatal disease or severe sequelae in these patients. The first reported human case in New Orleans raised concerns that very little was known about this zoonotic disease in the increasing urban raccoon population. Therefore, the study aim was to estimate the prevalence of -infected raccoons in New Orleans, LA. Raccoons were trapped based on nuisance calls from the public and in areas where raccoons had been sighted. Necropsies were performed to identify adult worms in intestines and fecal samples were examined for roundworm ova. Study findings showed that 38.5% of New Orleans raccoons were infected with , defined by the presence of adult worms or ova in their feces. Twenty-four of 65 raccoons (36.9%) had raccoon roundworms in their intestines and 31.7% of the fecal samples were positive for eggs. Mapping -infected raccoons by trapping location showed that infected raccoons were found throughout the city. In conclusion, the high prevalence rate of in New Orleans raccoons demonstrates the importance of educating the public and health care professionals about potential health risks and providing resources to prevent exposure to infective eggs from raccoon latrines. Furthermore, this emerging disease should be further studied to examine human risk of infection in increasing raccoon populations in metropolitan areas.
美洲浣熊旋毛线虫，在不同的美国地区和大都市区捕获的浣熊中被鉴定出后，被认为是美国一种新出现的人畜共患疾病。人类在摄入成熟的旋毛线虫卵后可能会感染旋毛线虫，在这些患者中，有时会导致致命的疾病或严重的后遗症。新奥尔良首例报告的人类旋毛线虫病例引起了人们的关注，即人们对不断增加的城市浣熊种群中的这种人畜共患病知之甚少。因此，本研究旨在估计新奥尔良市感染旋毛线虫的浣熊的流行率。根据公众的骚扰电话和浣熊出没的区域来诱捕浣熊。进行剖检以确定肠道中的成年旋毛线虫，并检查粪便样本中是否存在旋毛线虫卵。研究结果表明，新奥尔良市 38.5%的浣熊感染了旋毛线虫，这是通过其粪便中存在成年旋毛线虫或旋毛线虫卵来定义的。在 65 只浣熊中，有 24 只（36.9%）的浣熊肠道中有浣熊旋毛线虫，31.7%的粪便样本中旋毛线虫卵呈阳性。通过诱捕地点对感染旋毛线虫的浣熊进行定位显示，受感染的浣熊遍布整个城市。总之，新奥尔良市浣熊旋毛线虫的高流行率表明，必须教育公众和卫生保健专业人员了解潜在的健康风险，并提供资源来防止接触浣熊厕所中的感染性虫卵。此外，应该进一步研究这种新出现的疾病，以检查在大都市地区不断增加的浣熊种群中人类感染的风险。
