Presented by: Asmerom Lebasi & Tamrat Oda

 B. procyonis is a large roundworm infection that lives in the intestines of raccoons.  Up to 82% of adult raccoons and 90% of young raccoons are infected  First infection reported in 1984 in a10 month-old-child in Pennsylvania  Only 11 cases have been reported so far 4 have been fatal

 Kingdom: AnimaliaAnimalia  Phylum: NematodaNematoda  Class: NematodaNematoda  Order: AscarididaAscaridida  Family: AscarididaeAscarididae  Genus: Baylisascaris  Species: procyonis

 Fo und through out North America  In the Midwest, over half of the raccoons studied were infected.  Northeast regions of the United States California and Georgia.  Proven human cases have been reported in California, Oregon, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota and Missouri.

 Definitive Host: Raccoon  Dogs also serve as DH as they harbor infections and shed eggs  Intermediate Host: small mammals: mouse, squirrel, bird  Accidental hosts: Human

 They are tan-white in color, cylindrical and taper at both ends.  Female can be up to 24 inches long  Male can be up to 12 inches long

 Unembryonated eggs are shed in the environment.  They take 2-4 weeks to embryonate and become infective.  Raccoons can be infected by ingesting embryonated eggs from the environment.  Additionally, over 100 species of birds and mammals (especially rodents) can act as paratenic hosts for this parasite: eggs ingested by these hosts hatch and larvae penetrate the gut wall and migrate into various tissues where they encyst.  The life cycle is completed when raccoons eat these hosts.  The larvae develop into egg-laying adult worms in the small intestine and eggs are eliminated in raccoon feces.  Humans become accidentally infected when they ingest infective eggs from the environment; typically this occurs in young children playing in the dirt.  Migration of the larvae through a wide variety of tissues (liver, heart, lungs, brain, eyes) results in VLM and OLM syndromes, similar to toxocariasis.  Baylisascaris larvae continue to grow during their time in the human host.

Raccoons have NO symptoms! appear 1-3 weeks after infection, although they can take as long as 2 months  Nausea, blindness,coma  Skin irritations  Lethargy  Loss of muscle control  Liver enlargement

 Microscopy  Fecal floats to identify eggs in the feces  CAT scan Eosinophiles : high level of WBC count Serologic testing exam

 Laser treatment of the eye is a possibility if the eye becomes infected with larvae  Damage done is irreversible so there is no exact treatment for human  Raccoons can be successfully treated with several anthelmintics to kill the adult worms.  Effective drugs are piperazine, fenbendazole, pyrantel pamoate, levamisole

 Avoid contact with raccoons  don’t feed them  don’t keep them as pets  Wash your hands frequently when your around raccoons - especially important for children because they frequently put their fingers in their mouths

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