What is canine distemper? North Carolina officials issue warning about sick raccoons

An illness affecting raccoons in North Carolina has one local police department on high alert, warning residents to stay far away from the mammal population for now.

Police in the the beach town of Nags Head in North Carolina's Outer Banks said in a Facebook post on Monday that they've seen an uptick in calls about sick raccoons over the last couple of weeks. Some of the raccoons spotted in the Dare County area tested positive for canine distemper, a viral disease that affects a wide variety of mammals.

Nags Head emphasized the importance of keeping children and pets away from sick raccoons. Although there are no known human health implications from the illness, raccoons with the illness can become aggressive as it progresses.

The illness is known to particularly affect dogs and ferrets, which are "pretty susceptible" if exposed, Miranda Turner, a biologist with the state's Wildlife Resources Commission, told USA TODAY on Tuesday. (Cats cannot get it)

Canine distemper hits wildlife populations cyclically, hitting hard every few years when there are enough new young animals that don’t have immunity from the illness, Turner said. 

“That’s kind of what we’re seeing right now on the east coast of North Carolina,” Turner said. "Definitely higher than numbers of animals with canine distemper than we see in a typical year.” 

Canine distemper may look like rabies, biologist says

Getting a hard count on the total number of raccoons or any other wild animals impacted by canine distemper is “impossible,” but the outbreak has been on the agency’s radar since early summer, Turner said.

One of the reasons why canine distemper gets a lot of attention is because while its early symptoms are typical of a lot of wildlife diseases, infected animals like raccoons may exhibit neurological symptoms similar to rabies as the illness develops.

Stumbling around, walking in circles, and seizures are some of the more "scary-looking" neurologic symptoms raccoons can experience after infection. Raccoons typically recover quickly after the worse symptoms pass. 

“When a member of the public sees a raccoon (in that condition), they’re gonna jump to what they know, which is rabies when a lot of − especially on the East Coast right now − what they’re seeing is almost completely canine distemper instead,” Turner said.

Canine distemper outbreak safety tips, recommendations

The viral disease is commonly spread across wildlife species populations through bodily fluids like saliva or fecal matter, which is why keeping your pets away from raccoon territory is especially crucial. 

“It's kind like a lot of diseases in that there's a lot of different animals that can have it, so it kind of stays at a low level across the country in specific locations where it hasn't been in a while,” Turner said. “It can really kind of explode into a slightly larger infection.” 

Keeping trash secure and avoid feeding wildlife are some of the ways in which North Carolina residents can help the agency reduce the spread, Turner said. Pets may also be vaccinated against canine distemper.

Here are a couple other recommendations:

• Keep pets inside a fence, leashed or supervised when outside
• Do not leave pet food outside
• Protect gardens, beehives and chickens with fencing. 
• Close crawl spaces and openings under dwellings/buildings
• Basic hazing (or harassment), like hoses or noise-makers, can be used to show certain wild animals where they are not welcome
• Talk to your neighbors about wildlife issues you are experiencing

Anyone who thinks they may have come into contact with a sick raccoon can call the commission’s wildlife helpline at (866)-318-2401.

Turner is hopeful the outbreak will die down in the next few weeks, as the weather gets colder and animals burrow for warmth, adding: “We'll see kind of everything go back to normal within over the next couple of months."