A rare but potentially serious parasitic infection spread by raccoons has been found in Los Angeles.
The worms can potentially cause severe neurological and eye damage.
As their name alludes to, raccoons (Procyon lotor) are the primary host ofB.
© Gabe Ginsberg via Getty
But things get a little more complicated whenpeople or our petsare unlucky enough to get infected by these worms.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Healthannouncedthat it was investigating two human cases ofB.
procyonisinfection, both of which occurred in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County.
An illustration of the raccoon roundworm’s life cycle. © Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
procyonislarvae and successfully host adult worms that will shed eggs back into the world.
Human cases of baylisascariasis are rare, but can be life-threatening when this happens.
A large percentage of raccoons in the Western U.S. are thought to carryB.
Given that raccoons thrive by living near humans, the risk ofB.procyonisis certainly ever present, if small.
But people can take common sense precautions to lower their odds of catching these nasty worms.
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