Survey for spp. in wildlife in the eastern United States.

is a diverse genus of piroplasms that parasitize the red blood cells of a wide variety of mammals and avian species, including humans. There is a lack of knowledge on the species of carnivores and mesomammals in the eastern United States and the potential impacts of these species on the health of humans and domestic animals. We surveyed 786 wild mammals in the eastern United States by testing blood, spleen, and heart samples with PCR targeting the 18S rRNA region of apicomplexan parasites. We also performed PCR targeting the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 ( region of each unique clade identified with 18S rRNA sequencing. We found a high positivity of spp. infection in raccoons (), foxes ( and ), and striped skunks (), and low positivity in Virginia opossums (). No infections were detected in coyotes (), black bears (), groundhogs (), muskrats (), or mink (). Skunks carried a diverse number of strains including a potential novel species of related to a strain closely related to a like species known to cause disease in river otters, as well as a separate -like strain. Raccoons primarily carried -like strains, though there was a high diversity of sequences including sensu stricto MA230, and sp. 'Coco.' Foxes exclusively carried In addition to spp., a high positivity of spp. infection was found in mink, while low positivity was found in raccoons and muskrats. Wildlife in the eastern United States carry a diverse range of species including several novel strains of unknown clinical significance.