Symptoms of Raccoon Roundworm

Key points

  • Symptoms can depend on how many eggs are consumed and where in the body they move to.
  • Symptoms can vary from mild to serious.
  • They usually take a week or so to develop.
Child playing in sandbox with bucket and shovel,

Symptoms

People become infected when they accidentally ingest infective eggs in soil, water, or on objects that have been contaminated with raccoon feces. Baylisascaris infection is not spread from one person to another. When someone ingests these eggs, they hatch into larvae in the person's intestine and travel throughout the body, affecting the organs and muscles.

Depending on where the larvae migrate, Baylisascaris infection can affect the brain and spinal cord (neural larva migrans), the eye (ocular larva migrans), and/or other organs (visceral larva migrans).

Signs and symptoms depend on how many eggs are ingested and where in the body the larvae migrate (travel). Ingesting a few eggs may cause few or no symptoms, while ingesting large numbers of eggs may lead to serious symptoms. Signs and symptoms of infection may take a week or so to develop and may include the following:

  • Nausea
  • Tiredness
  • Liver enlargement
  • Loss of coordination
  • Lack of attention to people and surroundings
  • Loss of muscle control
  • Blindness
  • Coma
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Content Source:
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)