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A viral outbreak causing "zombie" behavior has caused more than two dozen raccoons in New York's Central Park in recent weeks.
City health and park officials revealed Saturday that the end of June, with two positive tests for the distemper virus, the New York Post reported. The other 24 are also considered infected with the virus because of the proximity of their deaths in such a short time.
Although the distemper virus can not be transmitted to humans, it can be contagious for dogs that have not been infected. vaccinated. The newest raccoon cadaver was discovered Saturday morning at East 106th Street and East Drive. Other live raccoons have also been observed showing symptoms of the disease.
"They seemed to be moving, wandering, having spasms," said Dr. Sally Slavinski, deputy director of the Department of Health. York paper. "Some of the raccoons had some sort of nasal discharge."
According to PetMD distemper can spread in the air as well as through direct or indirect contact. In dogs, the main symptoms include high fever, red eyes, and watery discharge from the nose and eyes. The persistent virus can cause anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, paralysis and hysterics. If the animal's immune system is weak, death can result within two to five weeks.
Raccoons with the disease may also act aggressively after being tamed. Initially, experts thought that deaths and strange behaviors could be caused by rabies. However, after the tests, this was excluded. More samples were tested and revealed the infection to distemper. Although humans are not in danger, dog owners have been alarmed to learn about the outbreak.
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"Now I'm scared." Holy moly! "Bob Cucurullo, 40, of the Upper East Sider, told The New York Post that he was driving his beagle terrier Charlie. "He sees a raccoon once a week, and he goes crazy afterwards. Now, I'll have to be careful where I let him go. "
Mirva Helenius / AFP / Getty Images
Raccoons have become a tourist attraction in Central Park in recent years. An article in of the New York Times referred to a group of more than 20 raccoons who banded together most evenings on a path near the southeast edge near 59th Street in Manhattan. Tourists and city dwellers would take selfies with wild animals and offer them food.
However, a representative of the parks department warned in an email that people should never feed raccoons or wild animals that they might encounter. "Animals are best observed from a distance – they keep them safe," he writes.
The newspaper also reported that a major outbreak of rabies infected the city's raccoon population in 2010, posing a potential threat to humans. pets. Several cases were also reported in 2015 and 2016.
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