Commentary
A fecal deposit on my deck and a latrine under a tree recently are stark reminders that suburban backyards are frequented by an ever-increasing citified wildlife population. Animal health pros immediately think of rabies and ideally have been able to keep vaccinations current in pets that go outdoors.
Beyond deer eating in our yards and predators like foxes, coyotes and bobcats who leave behind ticks while targeting backyard pets, chickens or rabbits, wildlife brings other risks. Raccoon, opossums, wild rabbits, squirrels and some birds also bring risks, such as leptospirosis and Salmonella to people and pets as close as our back doors.
We assembled some references to help animal health pros educate and advise pet owners. Even as shelter-in-place restrictions are being lifted, some families are staying closer to home which increases potential exposures from backyard visitors.
Source: Tips for keeping uninvited pests out of the barn, Hobby Farms, June 8, 2020. Link.
Opossums deserve a special shout-out, as they also spread protozoa in their feces that cause equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), a debilitating neurological disease in horses.
Source: Search results for: raccoons, WormsandGerms Blog. Link. In addition to rabies, Scott Weese, DVM, calls out leptospirosis and raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis) as two other important raccoon-born issues.
Source: Dead birds around a feeder: What to do,? WormsandGerms Blog. Link. Some birds can be healthy carriers of the Salmonella bacterium (and therefore be a source of infection for others), while other birds may get sick and potentially die from the infection. If you see dead birds around a bird feeder, consider the potential for a disease outbreak, particularly salmonellosis. Most reports of songbird-associated salmonellosis (songbird fever) are in cats, because cats are more likely to catch, scavenge and eat songbirds.
Source: Tularemia trouble, WormsandGerms Blog. Link. One of the reasons tularemia is such a big deal is it is very infectious; as few as ten bacteria can be enough to make even a healthy person sick!
Tularemia is sometimes called “rabbit fever,” because the bacteria are often carried by animals such as rabbits and hares. Rodents, including beavers, rats, mice, squirrels and others can also carry F. tularensis, and occasionally so can cats and dogs. Some biting insects like deerflies and certain species of ticks can carry the bacteria and transmit it when they bite.