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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Virus and Prion Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #100855
Title: CEREBRAL LARVA MIGRANS IN A RACCOON (PROCYON LOTOR)

Author
item Hamir, Amirali
item SNYDER, DANIEL - ELAN.AN.HLH,GREENFIELD,IN
item Lichtenfels, James

Submitted to: Veterinary Pathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/18/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: When eggs of intestinal round worms of animals are ingested by human beings or other animals, they hatch into larvae which can cause extensive damage when they migrate within various organs of the body (including brain and eyes). The damage caused by the larva is called visceral larva migrans. The common round worm (Baylisascaris procyonis) of raccoons is responsible for a large number of such cases of visceral larva migrans in both humans and animals. Raccoons are ubiquitous in the United States and share our immediate environment. Most are heavily infected with the common round worms. Raccoons have not previously been reported to suffer from visceral larval migrans. This report describes a case in which there was extensive inflammation of various body organs including the brain. Within the latter, there was presence of a round worm larva at the site of inflammation.

Technical Abstract: During 1997 gross and histopathological examinations were done on an adult female raccoon (Procyon lotor), which was live-trapped in Corvallis, Oregon, USA. Multifocal eosinophilic granulomas indicative of neural and visceral larva migrans were observed. However, within these granulomas the presence of parasitic larva was seen only in the cerebrum. Morphologic characteristics indicated that the nematode was an ascarid larva. However it was smaller than the larva of Baylisascaris sp. This appears to be the first documented case of cerebral larva migrans in a raccoon.