Bacterial and Viral Pathogens with One Health Relevance in Invasive Raccoons (Procyon lotor, Linne 1758) in Southwest Germany.

ABSTRACT: In Europe, raccoons are invasive neozoons with their largest population in Germany. Globally, this mesocarnivore acts as a wildlife reservoir for many (non-)zoonotic (re-)emerging pathogens, but very little epidemiological data is available for southwest Germany. This exploratory study aimed to screen free-ranging raccoons in Baden-Wuerttemberg (BW, Germany) for the occurrence of selected pathogens with One Health relevance. Organ tissue and blood samples collected from 102 animals, obtained by hunters in 2019 and 2020, were subsequently analysed for two bacterial and four viral pathogens using a qPCR approach. Single samples were positive for the carnivore protoparvovirus-1 (7.8%, n = 8), canine distemper virus (6.9%, n = 7), pathogenic Leptospira spp. (3.9%, n = 4) and Anaplasm

SUBMITTER: Reinhardt NP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10054312 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature