Raccoon Rabies: Example of Translocation, Disease

Raccoon Rabies: Example of Translocation, Disease
The spread of raccoon (Procyon lotor) rabies in the eastern United States is an excellent example of disease transmission through the movement of animals (Winkler and Jenkins 1991).
The first reported raccoon rabies occurred in Florida in the early 1950's. Between the 1950's and 1977, rabies spread by raccoon-to-raccoon transmission primarily within Florida and Florida to Georgia.
More than 3,500 raccoons were trapped in Florida and transported to Virginia between 1977 and 1981 to restock raccoon populations and provide increased hunting opportunities. Rabid raccoons were confirmed in shipments of animals to Virginia and North Carolina from Florida.
After these shipments, between 1977 and 1994, mid-Atlantic rabies outbreaks spread north to Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire, and south to North Carolina (Jenkins et al. 1988; Rupprect and Smith 1995).
Studies of rabies viruses have shown great similarity between rabies virus isolates from raccoons collected between 1950 and 1977 in Florida and Georgia and the mid-Atlantic outbreaks (Winkler and Jenkins 1991). There is increased public health concern about human contact with the rabid animals that are common in densely populated urban and suburban areas.