Funk’s Wildlife Disease Lab

06/09/2026

Understanding the host-parasite relationship is essential when identifying ova and understanding the disease potential related to those parasites. These three ova (Eucoleus boehmi, Eucoleus procyonis, and Trichuris vulpis) are morphologically similar, but affect their hosts in different ways:

- T. vulpis embed into the intestinal wall and can affect a wide range of carnivores
- E. boehmi infect the nasal cavity of canids, and the ova may be passed without hatching when ingested by non-canids
- E. procyonis primarily embed in the tongue and throat of raccoons, and generally do not cause disease in raccoons

The shape of the ova, texture of the external shell, and shape of the parasite larva within the o**m can all be used to differentiate between species of trichurid species.

06/09/2026

Closing night of Annual Meeting in Puerto Rico! It's been an amazing time learning about parasites, networking, relaxing in the sun, and presenting on raccoon roundworm in Oklahoma. Can't wait to return for another meeting!

04/28/2026

There's still time to sign up for this webinar focused on the prevention and management of infectious diseases in raccoons in wildlife rehabilitation! Tune in tomorrow at 5:30 PM CDT

We are very excited to be bringing this awesome talk to you on April 29th! Join us for a presentation by Will Funk, CWR "Management of Infectious Disease in Raccoons: Maximizing capacity while treating the individual"
Presentation to be held on Zoom and will be recorded for registered attendees
$10 NYSWRC Members with code MEMBERCOON
$15 Non Member
Sign up: https://www.nyswrc.org/virtualseminars

04/04/2026

Ask any raccoon rehabilitator and they'll say the same thing: neurologic disease in free ranging raccoons seems to be increasing, and it seems to be affect patients in care as well. My current research into retrospective records of neurologic clinical signs of raccoons admitted to a large rehabilitation center seems to be supporting that assessment, as neurologic clinical signs appear to be increasing while trauma and non-neurologic disease appear to be consistent. Understanding the diseases that affect these populations is essential to preventing them, particularly as many of these diseases have significant human and pet health implications.