Raccoon roundworm now in 9 European countries, putting people at higher risk for infection

News brief

Raccoon roundworm has now spread to nine European countries, raising the risk of human infection, according to a review and analysis by Goethe University researchers published in Parasitology Research.

Of the 146 raccoons examined in necropsy, 66.4% were infected with the Baylisascaris procyonis roundworm. "The results show both an expansion of the roundworm's distribution area and stable infection occurrence at high levels in German raccoon populations," Sven Klimpel, of Goethe University Frankfurt, said in a university news release.

The analysis revealed that, in Europe, the roundworm primarily occurs in wild raccoons in Central Europe, with extremely high infection rates in some areas. Three cases have resulted in permanent visual impairment.

“It is assumed that many cases remain undetected or are misdiagnosed due to non-specific symptoms," Klimpel said. Human cases are difficult to diagnose due to a lack of specific diagnostic tests in Europe. Definitive diagnosis is currently only possible in the United States and Canada.

“The actual distribution of the roundworm is likely significantly underestimated due to insufficient or absent data collection,” he added.

Can cause permanent neurologic damage or death

Adult roundworms live in the small intestine of raccoons. Female roundworms produce up to 180,000 eggs daily, which contaminate the environment via feces, where they develop into infectious larvae within two weeks. People become infected by accidentally ingesting infectious eggs from contaminated soil, water, or objects.

If the larvae enter the central nervous system, the disease can have severe consequences.

Anne Steinhoff, MS

Human infection can cause larva migrans, in which migrating larvae damage tissues and organs. "If the larvae enter the central nervous system, the disease can have severe consequences,” first author and PhD student Anne Steinhoff, MS, said. “Due to frequent hand-to-mouth contact, young children are primarily affected."

Most known cases occur in North America, where the disease often leads to permanent neurologic damage or death.

The raccoon roundworm arrived in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century with the first North American raccoons. Since their release or escape from fur farms, raccoons have spread across large swaths of Central Europe.

South Carolina now has 156 measles cases, as states see highest activity in 30 years

News brief

Stephanie Soucheray, MA

South Carolina health officials announced nine new measles cases today in an Upstate outbreak, bringing the outbreak total to 153 and the statewide total to 156 for the year.

“Five of the new cases were known household exposures, two resulted from a previously reported school exposure, the source of one is unknown and one is still being investigated,” officials said in a press release. “There are currently 249 people in quarantine and seven in isolation.”

Since October, the outbreak in the Upstate region has been growing, with cases seeded in several elementary schools with large unvaccinated student populations.

Of all the cases, 145 have been in unvaccinated people, three partially vaccinated with one of the recommended two-dose MMR sequence, one vaccinated, and four with unknown vaccine status.

Utah County reports more cases

Utah now has 142 measles cases, including 101 in the Southwest Utah health region. Utah County now has 16 cases. The six new cases reported yesterday were in Utah County among children under age 18. State epidemiologists have said this is the highest measles activity seen in more than 30 years.

The United States likely surpassed 2,000 measles cases this week, according to a tracker from Johns Hopkins University. Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has yet to update case counts this week, Johns Hopkins estimates 2,010 cases since January 1, 2025.

Gaines, Texas, had the highest case count, with 414 measles cases reported last spring. Mohave, Arizona, has 186 cases.

Quick takes: Lassa fever deaths spike in Nigeria, 3 new cases of H9N2 avian flu

News brief

Stephanie Soucheray, MA

Nigeria is seeing increasing Lassa fever activity, with 33 new cases reported in the past week and a newly calculated case-fatality rate (CFR) of 18.2%. So far in 2025, there have been a total of 9,041 suspected cases and 7 probable cases, with cumulative deaths rising to 195. The CFR is higher than the 16.5% recorded during the same period in 2024. Lassa virus is endemic in West Africa and spreads via contact with the urine or droppings of infected rodents. The virus can be transmitted person-to-person through direct contact with a sick person's blood, other body fluids, or mucous membranes, or sexual contact.
Today for the first time since October, Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP) is reporting new H9N2 avian flu cases, all three involving symptom onset in November. The patients come from Guangdong and Hubei provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and no ages have been given. In 2025, there have been 29 H9N2 cases reported from mainland China. In 2024, the country reported 11 total cases.