What is a raccoon roundworm?
Raccoon roundworm, or otherwise known as Baylisascaris Procyonis, is a parasite larvae hosted by raccoons. The name baylisascaris procyonis comes from H.A. Baylis, who studied the parasite in early 1900’s, and Greek word askaris, meaning intestinal worm. The larvae grows in the intestines and when the raccoon relieves itself, it gets deposited to soil. Within few weeks, the lavare becomes infectious. Raccoon roundworm mainly affects animals that encounter raccoon’s feces, but it has also been found to affect us, humans.
So, what happens if raccoon roundworm finds its way into our body?
As our population grows, we find ourselves urbanizing more and find ourselves sharing our living space with wildlife. That means that more frequently we meet our neighbors, raccoons. In extension, we often find on our properties raccoon feces. The way the raccoon roundworm can find its way into a human body is by ingesting it from soil or air. If you find that you have raccoon feces on your property, there is chance that by cross-contamination, you could potentially ingest some.
What are a symptoms of raccoon roundworm infection and how to treat it?
Raccoon roundworm infection affects human’s intestine and so as many of intestinal infections you will first feel it as any stomach flu like illness. You might start to feel nauseous, feel strong stomach discomfort due to enlargement of the liver. You will feel, all sudden, more tired as the infection starts to take effect. Raccoon roundworm infections can potentially lead to blindness and as worst-case scenario, in highly infected humans, it can lead into comatic state. It is often very difficult for doctors to diagnose raccoon roundworm infection and its often only diagnosed after all other possible illness are excluded. Unfortunate, no known home remedies had been found as first treatment of this this infection. It is most important to reach out to your doctor if you believe you might have ingested raccoon feces.
Why hire a professional for raccoon feces removal?
If you encounter any or some raccoon feces on your property, the best solution is to contact a professional to remove the feces as soon as possible. When we arrive for this service, we come fully prepared. When one of our fully licensed and experienced technicians arrives, they are fully geared up and perform through inspection of the affected area with it’s surroundings. The feces are sprayed with disinfectant, all feces are removed, then steam is used on the affected surface. Steam is used to destroy any left behind pathogens and roundworms. The heat of the steam is strongly effective. Pathogens and roundworm can be resistant to even industry graded disinfectant. Using heat of the steam we fully make sure we remove any of the of the eggs of the raccoon roundworm.