Starkville Animal Control officials have discovered multiple cases of distemper in raccoons within Starkville City limits.
Testing at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine confirmed three cases, a Starkville Police Department release states. Three more cases are pending, animal control officer Sarah Akins said.
Officers have been finding the animals since early August. Akins said three of them were found last week. The infected raccoons were found in the northeast and central parts of the city.
The disease tends to turn up in raccoons in the fall, Akins said, but officers don’t usually confirm this many cases.
“It comes and it goes,” Akins said. “This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen it. Normally we’ll get like one or so, but we’re starting to see more of it.”
The outbreak has prompted animal control officers and the SPD to urge residents to keep their own pets’ vaccinations up to date.
The disease is a virus that affects respiratory and neurological processes not only in wild animals, but in domesticated dogs, cats and ferrets, said Starkville Animal Hospital veterinarian Daniel Shy.
“It’s a disease that’s pretty much been wiped out in our domestic pet population just because of vaccine protocols,” Shy said. “And that’s the real answer, just vaccinating every pet. … “Vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate,” he said.
When distemper does show up in domesticated animals now, it’s usually in animal shelters, he said.
The department has not reported any domesticated dogs with the disease, but animal control officers ask residents to be aware and observant of symptoms.
The disease is usually spread through coughing, but it can spread from animal to animal through any bodily secretions, according to information Shy sent the Dispatch. Shy advised animal lovers not to leave dog or cat food outside for raccoons and stray animals to eat. That’s a good way for animals to pass diseases to each other, he said.
Though distemper can be fatal, it differs from rabies in that it’s not an automatic death sentence, Shy said. It’s similar to human measles, according to the information he provided.
The virus begins first with gooey discharge in the eyes and nose, coughing and fever. It can later cause hardening on the pads of the animal’s feet.
Distemper can also be neurological, Shy said. Symptoms include facial twitching and what he described as “chewing gum fits” when the animal looks like it’s chewing gum.
Neurologically, distemper can also cause seizures, imbalance, tremors and limb weakness, according to the information Shy provided.
Anyone who sees an animal showing symptoms of distemper should contact Starkville Animal Control at 662-769-2728 or SPD at 662-323-4131.
Reporter Carl Smith contributed to this article.
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