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Research in Native Wildlife

We are committed to expanding our understanding of conservation, addressing wildlife conflict, and promoting humane coexistence. Through education collaboration, we aim to foster a deeper appreciation for wildlife and encourage sustainable practices that benefit both humans and animals.

Raccoon Distemper Cases Based on Population Density 

August 2024 

Samantha N Calvert 

 

Canine Distemper is a single-strand RNA virus(paramyxovirus) that is highly contagious. It is spread via all secretions and incubates for approximately 5 days but can be up to three weeks before symptoms show. Symptoms generally start in the respiratory tract and then move into the nervous system; eventually causing paralysis and death. Deceased animals can shed the virus up to six weeks post-mortem and even asymptomatic animals will shed the virus (Ricci et al., 2021). 

 

A common transfer point of Distemper is through the domestic pets in an area.  The vaccination given to canine pets still allows the virus to shed, which then exposes the surrounding population to distemper. In areas where there are less domestic pets per population, the instance of distemper is significantly lower (Chomel et al., 2007). 

 

The data used in this report was compiled from the 2023 records of Lakeside Nature Center (LNC) in Kansas City, Missouri and Firefly’s Wildlife Rescue (WR) in Harrisonville, Missouri.  LNC is an urban-based, open-intake wildlife facility that cares for thousands of injured and orphaned wildlife a year, funded by the taxpayers of the Kansas City Metropolitan area.  They intake from all over the region, but primarily from Kansas City proper and its suburban neighbors.  

 

FWR is based in a rural county just south of Kansas City’s suburbs. They are not an open-intake facility but do receive animals from the Kansas City area and the rural communities on the outskirts of the area.  They are funded through donation only, with no municipal funds available. 

In 2023, LNC saw over 600 racoon intakes, and of that number, 171 were suspected distemper cases.  FWR reported 47 cases of potential distemper, having received 97 raccoons in need of care.  

 

Most of the cases reported to either organization were in zip codes with 1750 population density per square mile.  These areas are usually near recreational areas and man-made lakes used for boating.   

 

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References 

Lakeside Nature Center, K. C. (2024, July 22). Distemper Reports 2023. Kansas City, MO.  

Firefly's Wildlife Rescue (2024, July 22), Distemper Reports 2023. Harrisonville, MO. 

Ricci, I., Cersini, A., Manna, G., Marcario, G. A., Conti, R., Brocherel, G., Grifoni, G., Eleni, C., & Scicluna, M. T. (2021, February 10). A canine distemper virus retrospective study conducted from 2011 to 2019 in central Italy (Latium and Tuscany regions). Viruses. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7916514/ 

Chomel, B. B., Belotto, A., & Meslin, F.-X. (2007, January). Wildlife, Exotic Pets, and emerging zoonoses. Emerging infectious diseases. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2725831/ 

Bunting, B. (2018, March 21). Canine distemper and Raccoons. Cornell Wildlife Health Lab. https://cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/article/canine-distemper-and-raccoons 

Long, R. B., Krumlauf, K., & Young, A. M. (2020, September 11). Characterizing trends in human-wildlife conflicts in the American Midwest Using Wildlife Rehabilitation Records. PLOS ONE. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0238805 

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