title: HEALTH SURVEY OF FREE-RANGING RACCOONS (PROCYON LOTOR) IN CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA: IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN AND DOMESTIC ANIMAL HEALTH.
abstract: We conducted health assessments on 113 free-ranging raccoons ( Procyon lotor ) in Central Park, New York City, US, in February 2010, September 2010, and November 2011 in conjunction with a trap-vaccinate-release program to control a raccoon rabies epizootic. Five individuals were sampled at two time points for 118 raccoon examinations in total. We tested 13 of 13 and 8 of 13 euthanized raccoons for rabies and canine distemper virus (CDV), respectively, by antigen testing on brain tissue; all were negative for both viruses. Endoparasitism was the most common necropsy finding, with definitive identification of Baylisascaris procyonis in six of eight (75%) necropsied raccoons. Multiple intestinal parasites were detected in feces of living raccoons, including ascarid-type ova in 25 of 80 (31%) raccoons, with B. procyonis confirmed in one sample. Median blood lead level was 7.3 μg/dL (n=104). Rabies virus neutralizing antibody titer was ≥0.5 IU/mL in 9 of 88 (10%) raccoons naive to rabies vaccination and in 13 of 20 (65%) previously vaccinated raccoons. The majority of raccoons we tested were seropositive for canine parvovirus-2 (54/59, 92%) and Toxoplasma gondii (39/60, 65%). Fewer were seropositive for Rickettsia rickettsii (3/30, 10%). None were seropositive for CDV (n=108), canine adenovirus-1 (n=60), or Borrelia burgdorferi (n=30). Ectoparasites found during 16 of 118 (13.6%) physical examinations included Ixodes texanus ticks (15/118, 12.7%) and Trichodectes octomaculatus lice (1/118, 0.8%). We detected Campylobacter jejuni in 5 of 79 (6%) fecal samples. We detected 11 Salmonella enterica serotypes in 70 of 111 (63.1%) enteric cultures, the most common of which were Salmonella Newport (20/70, 29%) and Salmonella Oranienburg (20/70, 29%). These results indicate that raccoons in Central Park likely are involved in the environmental occurrence and potential disease transmission of a variety of infectious and noninfectious diseases of concern for human, wildlife, and domestic animal health.
authors.affiliation: 1   Wildlife Conservation Society, Zoological Health Program, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York 10460, USA.|2   Section of Zoological Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Rainwater
authors.affiliation: 1   Wildlife Conservation Society, Zoological Health Program, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York 10460, USA.
authors.forename: Krysten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Marchese
authors.affiliation: 3   New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Bureau of Communicable Disease, 2 Gotham Center, CN# 22A, 42-09 28 Street, Queens, New York 11101, USA.
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Slavinski
authors.affiliation: 4   Wildlife Services, US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11239, USA.
authors.forename: Lee A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Humberg
authors.affiliation: 5   Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, 240 Farrier Road, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Edward J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Dubovi
authors.affiliation: 6   Rabies Laboratory, New York State Department of Health, 5668 State Farm Road, Slingerlands, New York 12159, USA.
authors.forename: Jodie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jarvis
authors.affiliation: 1   Wildlife Conservation Society, Zoological Health Program, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York 10460, USA.
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McAloose
authors.affiliation: 1   Wildlife Conservation Society, Zoological Health Program, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York 10460, USA.
authors.forename: Paul P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Calle
mesh_terms: D000820:Animal Diseases; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood; D009518:New York; D011821:Raccoons / Q000469:parasitology / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D007854:Lead
keywords: Canine distemper virus; Procyon lotor; Salmonella; epidemiology; public health; rabies; raccoon; zoonosis