Zoonotic Baylisascaris procyonis Roundworms in Raccoons, China

Risk factors for Lyme disease in a small rural community in northern California. Population structure of the Lyme bor-reliosis spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi in the Western black-legged tick (Ixodes pacificus) in northern California. clones of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto cause invasive infection in humans. distribution of the ospC gene, a transfer-able serotype determinant of Borrelia burgdorferi. et al. Niche partitioning of Borrelia burg-dorferi and Borrelia miyamotoi in the same reservoir host and arthropod vector. Steere AC. Borrelia burgdorferi RST 1 (OspC Type A) Genotype is associated with greater inflammation and more severe Lyme disease. Zoonotic Baylisascaris procyonis Roundworms in Raccoons, China To the Editor: Baylisascaris procyonis, an intestinal roundworm that infects raccoons (Procyon lotor), causes fatal or severe neural larva mi-grans in animals and humans (1,2). Globally, ≈130 species of wild and domesticated animals are susceptible (2). Infections in humans typically occur in children who have the disorders pica or geophagia and ingest B. procyonis eggs in items contaminated with raccoon feces (3). Clinical manifestations include ocular disease, eosinophilic encephalitis, and eosinophilic cardiac pseudotumors; severe infection can lead to death. Since 1984, ≈24 cases of B. procyonis–related human neu-ral larva migrans have been reported, mainly in the United States (1,3–5; K.R. Kazacos, pers. comm.). Despite few cases among humans, lack of effective treatment and widespread distribution of infected raccoons in close association with humans make B. procyonis a potentially serious public health threat (2,6). The current distribution of B. procyonis is poorly recorded in Asia (2,7), except for Ja-pan (8). We describe B. procyonis infections among raccoons in China as part of a series of ongoing surveys of helminthic zoonoses linked to captive exotic animals in zoologic gardens (ZGs) in China. More than 90% of raccoons in China (n >320) are raised as exotic ornamental animals in 18 ZGs. During 2011–2013, we collected 2×308 fe-cal samples (i.e., 1 repeat within each sampling) from 277 raccoons in 12 randomly selected ZGs (online Technical Appendix Figure 1, wwwnc. cdc.gov/EID/article/20/12/14-0970-Techapp1.pdf). Samples were stored in individual plastic bags at –20°C until use. We examined raccoons (n = 31) at the Sichuan ZGs twice, in June 2012 and May 2013. We identified B. procyonis eggs in feces using morpho-logic and molecular analyses (1,2,9). The nuclear first internal transcribed spacer (428 bp) and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox-1, 938 bp) genes in each sample were PCR-amplified and sequenced. B. procyonis infection was confirmed by sequencing …