Baylisascaris procyonis and eimerian infections in raccoons
Dubey, J.P.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 181(11): 1292-1294
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-1488 PMID: 7174446 Document Number: 190599
Between December 1977 and April 1978, 28 Procyon lotor were shot in residential areas around Columbus, Ohio, USA. B. procyonis was found in 7, trichurid eggs in 2, capillarid eggs in 8, trichostrongylid eggs in 9 and Eimeria procyonis oocysts in 23. A Toxocara-free dog, a fox, a sheep, a goat and 2 parasite-free cats were each fed 5000 infective eggs removed from the uteri of B. procyonis. Neither lesions nor larvae were found in samples of various organs and tissues. 16 or more eggs of the same inoculum were fatal to mice. Meronts, gamonts and oocysts of E. procyonis were found in epithelial cells at the tips of the villi in the small intestine. Meronts were 7 X 5.5 mu m and contained 4 to 10 merozoites. Oocysts were ellipsoidal to oval (15.5 to 11.8 mu m) with walls consisting of 2 layers, the outer one rough and striated.