Ahhh!! Raccoons can blind you!!!

Not sure where in Brooklyn this happened, but raccoons may as well be our roommates around here, climbing up fire-escapes and down chimneys as they wish.

RACCOON ROUNDWORM: Blinds NYC Teen In One Eye, Causes Brain Damage In Infant
May 3, 2009 08:12 PM EST | AP

NEW YORK — A rare disease transmitted through contact with raccoon feces has left a New York City teenager blind in one eye and an infant brain damaged.

The city's Department of Health warns parents to be on the alert for raccoon roundworm, which can cause nausea, nerve damage and even death. It says fewer than 30 cases have been reported in medical literature.

Health department spokeswoman Sally Slavinski says parents should supervise children to keep them from eating raccoon feces. Droppings should be picked up using gloves and disposable bags and put in the trash.

The worms lay eggs in the feces; they hatch after being ingested and travel through the body.

The teenager lost sight in one eye in January. The infant has been hospitalized since suffering seizures and spinal problems last October. They're from Brooklyn.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/04/raccoon-roundworm-blinds-_n_195941.html

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/05/04/raccoon-roundworm.html

why was a teenager eating raccoon poop?

I was wondering the same thing

That reminds me that I have to figure out a way to open my window on my fire escape to allow a cross-breeze without allowing the raccoon who tried to eat his way through my screen last Summer another shot at entering my apartment!

How on earth was this traced to raccoon poop, and how did the baby come in contact with it? Is the child being raised by raccoons. I feel like this article is leaving out significant facts.

Raccoons can be scary. I don't want to get near one.

Discovery Channel should totally do a Raccoon Week instead of Shark Week.

The toddler and the teenager could have been touching the grass in Prospect Park and picked up the infection on their hands then transferred it to eyes, nose or mouth before washing their hands. Whilst a toddler might eat poop, I suspect that it was the ground that was touched. If raccoons are like cats, they have favorite spots to take a crap, so that spot and any ground nearby would be alive with the bacteria.

xlizellx wrote: why was a teenager eating raccoon poop?

Raccoon poop is the new gateway drug.

I am going to wash my hands after I touch ANYTHING!

whynot_31 wrote: Discovery Channel should totally do a Raccoon Week instead of Shark Week.

Even better: Raccoons v. Sharks!

one of the raccoons was crawling around the yard yesterday MID-DAY! maybe we should get the super to clean up the yard this time.

Out at midday might mean it's sick, possibly rabies. Call animal care and control if that happens again--they might come and trap it. And don't eat the poop

yeah - they're not usually out mid-day but i've read that it's more normal in the city because the raccoons usually get woken up more easily. ...kind of like the squirrel chewing on a chicken bone a few weeks back.