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. 2022 May;69(3):248-253.
doi: 10.1111/zph.12924. Epub 2022 Feb 14.

Cryptosporidium parvum outbreak associated with Raccoons at a Wildlife Facility-Virginia, May-June 2019

Meredith K Davis  1 , Jennifer Riley  2 , Brandy Darby  3 , Julia Murphy  3 , Lauren Turner  4 , Marta D Segarra  5 , Dawn M Roellig  6
Affiliations

Cryptosporidium parvum outbreak associated with Raccoons at a Wildlife Facility-Virginia, May-June 2019

Meredith K Davis et al. Zoonoses Public Health. 2022 May.

Abstract

Cryptosporidium parvum is a parasitic zoonotic pathogen responsible for diarrheal illness in humans and animals worldwide. We report an investigation of a cryptosporidiosis outbreak in raccoons and wildlife rehabilitation workers at a Virginia facility. Fifteen (31%) of 49 facility personnel experienced symptoms meeting the case definition, including four laboratory-confirmed cases. Seven juvenile raccoons were reported to have diarrhoea; six had laboratory-confirmed cryptosporidiosis. Cryptosporidium parvum of the same molecular subtype (IIaA16G3R2) was identified in two human cases and six raccoons. Raccoon illness preceded human illness by 11 days, suggesting possible zoonotic transmission from raccoons to humans. This appears to be the first report of a human cryptosporidiosis outbreak associated with exposure to raccoons infected with C. parvum. Raccoons might be an under-recognized reservoir for human C. parvum infections. Further study is needed to explore the prevalence of cryptosporidial species in raccoons and their role as a wildlife reservoir.

Keywords: Cryptosporidium parvum; Procyon lotor; outbreak; raccoons.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLIC T OF INTEREST

None of the authors of this study have a financial or personal relationship with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the paper.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Wildlife facility cryptosporidiosis outbreak epidemiologic curve, Virginia, June 2019
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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