Distribution of Adult Baylisascaris procyonis in Raccoons from Virginia

Abstract

Jacobson et al. (1976, J. Wildl. Dis. 12: 357360) reported an epizootic of Baylisascaris procyonis-induced cerebrospinal nematodiasis in cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) from Montgomery County, Virginia. This epizootic prompted a survey of raccoons, the normal host, to determine the distribution of B. procyonis in hosts from the state of Virginia. Seventy-two raccoons were collected and examined for adult B. procyonis. Nineteen of 34 raccoons collected from west of the Blue Ridge in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province were infected (Table I). The mean number ? SE of male and female worms per infected raccoon was 5.2 ? 2.0 and 10.6 ? 4.6, respectively, constituting a male to female ratio of 1:2. The max-