If you’ve been looking for a reason to keep a flamethrower in your house, you might have found it.
This week, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Two people were infected with raccoon parasites It causes severe, often fatal, infections of the eyes, organs and central nervous system, and those who survive are often left with severe neurological sequelae, including blindness, paralysis, loss of coordination, seizures, cognitive impairment and brain atrophy.
The parasitic roundworms that cause infection are Baylisascaris procyonisis spread by eggs in raccoon feces. Adult worms live in the intestines of masked scavenging raccoons, with females laying about 200,000 eggs per day. Once in the environment, these eggs remain infectious for years. They can survive drying and can withstand most chemical treatments and disinfectants, including bleach.
Humans become infected when they inadvertently eat soil or other materials contaminated with egg-containing excrement. 29 cases recorded between 1973 and 2015Those most at risk are young children and people with developmental disabilities.
For example, an 18-month-old Illinois boy with Down syndrome died of infection after chewing and sucking contaminated firewood bark. An autopsy later found three larvae per gram of brain tissue, giving an estimated worm count of 3,027. According to a 2016 report:.
Burn it all down
The Los Angeles Department of Public Health said in a news release this week that while the risk to the general public is “low,” the two cases are “of concern due to the large number of raccoons living in close proximity to humans and the likelihood of high infection rates among raccoons. This confirmed case of a rare infection serves as an important reminder to all Los Angeles County residents to take precautions to prevent the spread of diseases from animals to humans, known as zoonotic diseases.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and PreventionThe most effective way to prevent raccoon roundworms is to kill them with fire. While chemicals are nearly impossible to kill the infested eggs, extreme heat will destroy them instantly.
You may need to employ this method if you have raccoons around your property. Raccoons tend to defecate in smelly communal toilets, such as at the base of trees, tree stumps, firewood piles, decks, patios and other elevated surfaces, and in attics and garages.
If you suspect there is a raccoon outdoor toilet on your property, The CDC recommends Pour boiling water over it or light a fire. The CDC recommends using a propane torch, but a personal flame thrower will work just as well. However, the CDC warns that lighting the toilet on fire “may cause fire, burns, or surface damage.”
“Before setting fire to your toilet, contact your local fire department for more information about local regulations and safety precautions,” the CDC says. “Concrete foundations, bricks, and metal shovels and gardening tools will not be damaged by lighting a fire. Do not set fire to surfaces that may melt or burn.”
The CDC advises against using fires in indoor toilets, instead describing how to clean them carefully with hot, soapy water, but removed waste and contaminated materials can also be burned outdoors as long as they are not buried or disposed of in the trash.
