Survey of Baylisascaris spp. in Eastern Tennessee Wildlife and Detection of Baylisascaris spp. Eggs in Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) Feces

Abstract

We analyzed 69 eastern Tennessee wildlife samples for Baylisascaris spp. during 2011. The prevalence of Baylisascaris spp. in raccoons ( Procyon lotor) was 16% (8/49), an increase compared to previous surveys in this region. One Virginia opossum ( Didelphis virginiana) had eggs in its feces, indicating that opossums can play a role in Baylisascaris spp. transmission.

Distribution of Baylisascaris procyonis in Raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Florida, USA

“…Despite the distribution of raccoons throughout most of North America and Central America (Zeveloff 2002), raccoon roundworm has been rare or previously unrecognized in the Southeast US. Nevertheless, recent surveys have detected B. procyonis in isolated areas of the Southeast US states including Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee and several areas of Texas (Eberhard et al 2003; Souza et al 2009; Blizzard et al 2010a; Kresta et al 2010; Hernandez et al 2013; Al-Warid et al 2017; Gerhold et al 2018). Historically, surveys in Florida, although limited in scope, have failed to detect the parasite (Forrester 1992; Kazacos 2001; McCleery et al 2005).…”