hbb@hou5a.UUCP (H.B.Braude) (03/19/85)
Not too long ago, there was a discussion in this newsgroup about
the pros and cons of raising racoons as pets. This morning, I was
listening to a radio program (National Public Radio (NPR) of
Delaware) where a number of maladies were attributed to contact
with racoons.
It seems that a doctor treated a patient who complained of
blurred vision in one eye and discovered that a larva of some
species of worm had begun to migrate over the retina (it was
killed with laser therapy, but the damage caused by the enzymes
secreted by the larva as it moves was irrepairable.)
In a seemingly unrelated case, many larvae of the same type were
discovered in the brain tissue of a number of infants who died
due to encephalitis (an inflammation of the brain tissue.)
The common thread of these cases was that the individuals were in
contact with racoons or areas where racoons lived. Generally
speaking, the report said that infestation in Humans was rare,
but that the risks increased with increased exposure to these
animals and their habitats.
The doctor that was quoted (I do not recall the name) claimed
that laser therapy was only effective in eye-related problems
but was ineffective when the larvae were found in brain tissue.
--
Harlan B. Braude
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