Viability of B. procyonis Eggs | CDC EID

Viability of B. procyonis Eggs | CDC EID: "EID Journal Home > Volume 17, Number 7–July 2011

Volume 17, Number 7–July 2011
Dispatch
Viability of Baylisascaris procyonis Eggs

Shira C. Shafir, Comments to Author Frank J. Sorvillo, Teresa Sorvillo, and Mark L. Eberhard
Author affiliations: University of California Los Angeles School of Public Health, Los Angeles, California, USA (S.C. Shafir, F.J. Sorvillo, T. Sorvillo); Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles (F.J. Sorvillo); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (M.L. Eberhard); and Trident University International, Cypress, California, USA (F.J. Sorvillo)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract
Infection with Baylisascaris procyonis roundworms is rare but often fatal and typically affects children. We attempted to determine parameters of viability and methods of inactivating the eggs of these roundworms. Loss of viability resulted when eggs were heated to 62°C or desiccated for 7 months but not when frozen at –15°C for 6 months.

Baylisascaris procyonis, the common intestinal roundworm of raccoons, has increasingly been recognized as a source of severe, often fatal, neurologic disease in humans, particularly children (1,2). Although this devastating disease is rare, lack of effective treatment and the widespread distribution of raccoons in close association with humans make baylisascariasis a disease that seriously affects public health (3). Raccoons infected with B. procyonis roundworms can shed millions of eggs in their feces daily (4). Given the habit of raccoons to defecate in and around houses, information about optimal methods to inactivate B. procyonis eggs are critical for the control of this disease. However little information is available about survival of eggs and effective disinfection techniques. This study expands on our previous work by providing additional data on thermal death point and determining the impact of desiccation and freezing on the viability of B. procyonis eggs to provide additional information for risk assessments of contamination and guide attempts at environmental decontamination (5).

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Suggested Citation for this Article

Shafir SC, Sorvillo FJ, Sorvillo T, Eberhard ML. Viability of Baylisascaris procyonis eggs. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2011 Jul [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/17/7/1293.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1707.101774

Comments to the Authors

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Shira C. Shafir, Department of Epidemiology, Center for Health Sciences, UCLA School of Public Health, Rm 21-245, 650 Charles E. Young Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA; email: sshafir@ucla.edu