I do a few raccoons that have distemper every year but every year I seem to be doing more. I did another one today and I don't want

you to think I'm complaining because it doesn't get much easier. You run up with a musky net, scoop them up, put them in a cage for

off-site euthanizing and collect the check. And at least in our area, the distemper sites are filled in by healthy raccoons very

rapidly. I was just wandering if you guys are experiencing anything similar. I've been really pleased with all the responses to my

questions that you guys have given. You start to get a picture of what's going on from coast to coast. Thanks!

We have had a steady lingering distemper outbreak here for two years.

Lots of areas void of coon, other areas with 3 and 4 month old offspring still. The old sows keep losing young and re breeding.

Then pockets full of coon 20 miles away.

Usually here its been total population devastation before, then they recover in 3 to 5 years. For some reason this time the disease is lingering?

I've only picked up a few obviously diseased animals over 16 yrs. In CT we're required to euthanize all raccoons and skunks due to rabies protocol. I don't know if the ones I've taken were rabid, distemper or something else, they are not tested, just killed and put in freezer.
I remember one coon had gooey eyes and barely alive. One other was doing summersaults in a barn. And one that was somewhat aggressive but wouldn't come out of a crawlspace far enough to get a noose on him (he was dead in cage the next morning). One in a basement that kept coming at me, I had to hold a cage between me and it until I could get the noose pole on him.
And a skunk or two that was drunk as can be.
Can't remember any others that were obviously sick.

One of the common signs here is the eyes are crusting over. The one a got today could only see out of a part of one eye. Stability is

another problem. They start to walk or try to run and they fall over.

I get a few a year, mostly sick skunks. I have them call the police or animal control first if possible. Most of the ones I grab are ones the police have them call me. Last one was at my sons school, but by the time I got on site the whole PD was ther and animal control had it in a cage. laughed seeing four squad cars for a sick raccoon. Last year had more mange than disease.

My end of the state it's rabid skunks, very few coons that are sick. Like Rich I go when the PD doesn't want to mess with them. Last year it was on the Coast Guard Station. Freebie as you never know when you need them. Because it was on government property no one knew who should take care of it.

We have been seeing it in the skunk population for years. It's to the point now anytime we have a skunk odor complaint, we have to make sure there is not a dead one first before doing any type of trapping program. My friend took 3 dead ones yesterday alone. They are breeding now, and basically visiting the dens, and spreading the disease to each other. In 3 to 6 weeks, after they begin to get the effects of it, we will start getting calls daily for skunks walking in circles, convulsing, crusted over eyes....A few have been tested for rabies over the years and came back negative, but they will not do anything further as to determine exactly what it is killing them. I have just suspected it was distemper but have no proof.

Now what Albert just said is really interesting. We may have more rabies in skunks than distemper but New York has had rabies

epidemics in raccoons while we have none. We have distempered raccoons while New York doesn't seem to have many. A different strain

of distemper perhaps?

Albert,

That's a great grad student study. Prof. And student could collaborate with your NYS association to gather enough samples and the cost is only lab fees then, cheap as they come!

Usually the reason these deals don't go anywhere is once folks know its not killing people or harming the livestock we eat, money evaporates from the table.

In my local area we have had no terrestrial rabies (skunk or raccoon) since the 70's while other parts of the state have fairly high rabies in skunks.

Disease ecology is an entire field of study (actually many fields). So many dynamics effect populations of animals on the landscape.

Distemper and parvovirus and other things we don't worry about for human health risk are always at play in out wildlife populations. Big field of study opening up right now looking at issues that outdoor domestic felines may be spreading to wild felines (bobcat, mtn lion).

Always a new opportunity to learn if the funding and lab interest can be gathered.

Interesting thread....

There is different kinds of distemper, Canine and feline for example. I am by any means not a expert on this, but have been down this road before. The State Health Department will not test for distemper, only Rabies. They could only guess that it was distemper. So I found Cornel University was doing a study on distemper and I sent them some samples to test. Every one came back Positive for distemper and none tested positive for rabies. I got a reaming from the State Health Department for not getting the samples cleared by them for rabies first. Come to find out the head of the lab at Cornel was the head of State Heath Departments teacher and they knew each other. I got my answers I needed for the public by going over the State Health Department, Now they work with me when needed.
Dave

This is a nice clean fact sheet with a great table as well.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12150_12220-26505--,00.html