Prevalence of Eggs of Baylisascaris Procyonis (Nematoda:ascaroidea) in Raccoon Scats From an Urban and a Rural Community

Twenty-six of 97 (27%) scats from raccoons (Procyon lotor) in an urban area and 37 of 121 (31%) scats from raccoons collected in a rural area of Indiana during October and November of 1980 contained eggs of Baylisascaris procyonis, an ascarid of animal health significance. Raccoons that were livetrapped from the same areas had similar prevalences of B. procyonis eggs in their feces. Therefore, monitoring the prevalence of B. procyonis in raccoon populations by analyzing scats appeared to be feasible.