Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link
Volume 26, Number 4—April 2020
Research Letter

Geographic Distribution of Raccoon Roundworm, Baylisascaris procyonis, Germany and Luxembourg

Mike HeddergottComments to Author , Peter Steinbach, Sabine Schwarz, Helena E. Anheyer-Behmenburg, Astrid Sutor, Annette Schliephake, Diana Jeschke, Michael Striese, Franz Müller, Elisabeth Meyer-Kayser, Michael Stubbe, Natalia Osten-Sacken, Susann Krüger, Wolfgang Gaede, Martin Runge, Lothar Hoffmann, Hermann Ansorge, Franz J. Conraths, and Alain C. Frantz
Author affiliations: Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle, Luxembourg, Luxembourg (M. Heddergott, P. Steinbach, A.C. Frantz); Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany (P. Steinbach); Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany (S. Schwarz, A. Sutor, F.J. Conraths); Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety, Hannover, Germany (H.E. Anheyer-Behmenburg, M. Runge); State Office for Consumer Protection Saxony-Anhalt, Stendal, Germany (A. Schliephake, W. Gaede); Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz, Görlitz, Germany (D. Jeschke, M. Striese, H. Ansorge); Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany (F. Müller); Thuringia Office for Consumer Protection, Bad Langensalza, Germany (E. Meyer-Kayser, L. Hoffmann); Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle/Saale, Germany (M. Stubbe); Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland (N. Osten-Sacken); Fondation Faune-Flore, Luxembourg (N. Osten-Sacken); German Hunting Association, Berlin, Germany (A. Sutor, S. Krüger); International Institute Zittau, Technische Universität Dresden, Zittau, Germany (H. Ansorge)

Main Article

Figure

Characteristics of the geographic distribution of the raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis). A) Geographic origin of 8,184 dissected raccoons and the German administrative districts (Landkreise) in which raccoons were harvested during 2017–2018. Dots indicate sampling sites. B) Population genetic structure of raccoons in Germany and Luxembourg. Reanalysis of the dataset by (5) but including 26 raccoons from Luxembourg (genotyped following [5]) and omitting animals from the city of Kassel (

Figure. Characteristics of the geographic distribution of the raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis). A) Geographic origin of 8,184 dissected raccoons and the German administrative districts (Landkreise) in which raccoons were harvested during 2017–2018. Dots indicate sampling sites. B) Population genetic structure of raccoons in Germany and Luxembourg. Reanalysis of the dataset by (5) but including 26 raccoons from Luxembourg (genotyped following [5]) and omitting animals from the city of Kassel (no distinct introduction [6]). The genetic data were analyzed by using the clustering of individuals algorithm implemented in BAPS v.6.0 (7). Different colors represent different genetic populations. Pie charts represent the genetic populations of origin of all the raccoons in an administrative district, and chart size indicates the number of samples included. BB, Brandenburg; BV, Bavaria; BW, Baden-Württemberg; HE, Hesse; L, Luxembourg; LS, Lower Saxony; MV, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; NW, North Rhine-Westphalia; RP, Rhineland-Palatinate; SH, Schleswig-Holstein; SL, Saarland; SN, Saxony; ST, Saxony-Anhalt; TH, Thuringia; C) Geographic distribution of B. procyonis roundworms, plotted onto the10 × 10–km ETRS89-LAEA5210 EEA reference grid.

Main Article

References
  1. Kazacos  KR. Baylisascaris procyonis and related species. In: Samuels WM, Pybus MJ, Kocans AA, editors. Parasitic diseases of wild mammals. 2nd ed. Ames (IA): Iowa State University Press; 2001. p. 301–41.
  2. Page  K, Beasley  JC, Olson  ZH, Smyser  TJ, Downey  M, Kellner  KF, et al. Reducing Baylisascaris procyonis roundworm larvae in raccoon latrines. Emerg Infect Dis. 2011;17:90–3. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. Sorvillo  F, Ash  LR, Berlin  OGW, Morse  SA. Baylisascaris procyonis: an emerging helminthic zoonosis. Emerg Infect Dis. 2002;8:355–9. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. Pai  PJ, Blackburn  BG, Kazacos  KR, Warrier  RP, Bégué  RE. Full recovery from Baylisascaris procyonis eosinophilic meningitis. Emerg Infect Dis. 2007;13:928–30. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  5. Osten-Sacken  N, Heddergott  M, Schleimer  A, Anheyer-Behmenburg  HE, Runge  M, Horsburgh  GJ, et al. Similar yet different: co-analysis of the genetic diversity and structure of an invasive nematode parasite and its invasive mammalian host. Int J Parasitol. 2018;48:233–43. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. Fischer  ML, Hochkirch  A, Heddergott  M, Schulze  C, Anheyer-Behmenburg  HE, Lang  J, et al. Historical invasion records can be misleading: genetic evidence for multiple introductions of invasive raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Germany. PLoS One. 2015;10:e0125441. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  7. Cheng  L, Connor  TR, Aanensen  DM, Spratt  BG, Corander  J. Bayesian semi-supervised classification of bacterial samples using MLST databases. BMC Bioinformatics. 2011;12:302. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  8. Frantz  AC, Cyriacks  P, Schley  L. Spatial behaviour of a female raccoon (Procyon lotor) at the edge of the species’ European distribution range. Eur J Wildl Res. 2005;51:126–30. DOIGoogle Scholar
  9. Schwarz  S, Sutor  A, Mattis  R, Conraths  FJ. [The raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis)—no zoonotic risk for Brandenburg?] [in German]. Berl Munch Tierarztl Wochenschr. 2015;128:34–8.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  10. Wise  ME, Sorvillo  FJ, Shafir  SC, Ash  LR, Berlin  OG. Severe and fatal central nervous system disease in humans caused by Baylisascaris procyonis, the common roundworm of raccoons: a review of current literature. Microbes Infect. 2005;7:317–23. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar

Main Article

Page created: March 17, 2020
Page updated: March 17, 2020
Page reviewed: March 17, 2020
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external