Baylisascaris procyonisParasites in Raccoons, Costa Rica, 2014

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

To the Editor: Baylisascaris procyonis (Ascaridoi- : Ascarididae) parasites are facultatively heteroxenous that are widely distributed in the United States Canada, where prevalence rates reach 70%–90%. They the small intestine of their final host, the northern (Procyon lotor), whose feces can contain up to 25 × 103 /g. Under ideal environmental conditions (100% and 24°C), eggs become infective in soil (1,2). ingested by other mammalian hosts, third-stage lar- can produce pathologic changes called larva migrans, can lead to chronic neurologic disorders and even (1,3). B. procyonis parasite infection of humans oc- by the fecal–oral route (ingestion of eggs in contami- food) (1). Small children are particularly vulnerable accidental geophagia. Public health concerns arise raccoon and human populations overlap.