The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine

eorgia Veterinary Scholars Program

GVSP Summer 2008 Scholars

Georgia Veterinary Scholar	Faculty Mentor
	No photo available
Tiffany Umlauf University of Georgia Class of 2011	Dr. Kevin Keel

Parvovirus Surveillance in Wild Raccoons

Umlauf, Tiffany*. Keel, Kevin; Saliki, Jerry; College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia

Parvoviral enteritis outbreak is a documented problem in raccoon populations housed in rehabilitation facilities. The outbreaks are most often associated with young raccoons, and are frequently fatal. No mortality has been documented among wild raccoons, though seropositive animals have been identified in
previous surveys. It remains to be determined if wild raccoons are exposed to the virus and, if so, what the circumstances of such exposure are. Most research seems to suggest that a viral agent most similar to feline panleukopenia causes parvoviral enteritis in young raccoons. Some sources indicate that raccoons do not develop disease due to canine parvovirus (CPV). However, in (2007), two raccoons that died of parvovirus associated enteritis were discovered to be positive for CPV-2 virus. This suggests raccoons may be susceptible to a broader variety of parvoviruses than previously described and that these viruses generally
originate in domestic carnivores. Serum samples from raccoons originating in rural or urban areas were tested for antibodies to parvovirus. A hemagglutination inhibition assay was used in accordance with previous research of parvovirus in raccoons. These results will be examined for overall frequency of positive animals. They can then be further investigated for spatial differences associated with anticipated variability in human population, which is expected to be directly correlated to abundance of pets.

Research Support: Southeastern Cooperative Wildilife Disease Study

Student Support: Merck and VMES grant to Georgia Veterinary Scholars