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Raccoon Bite Treatment
Prevention
Raccoons and humans getting too close.
Photo by James Humphrey
Raccoons have sharp teeth, strong natural instincts, and exhibit very defensive behavior. They should not be approached and under no circumstances fed.
Hand feeding a raccoon is not only dangerous but foolish. Remember you're putting your hand in front of a wild animal's mouth.
Treatment
Raccoon bites should receive the same medical treatment as domestic dog or cat bites, with the level of care corresponding to the severity of the wound. Any person who has been bitten by a raccoon should seek professional medical attention. Puncture wounds should be flushed and cleaned with a topical antibiotic, sutured if necessary and monitored for symptoms of infection. Antibiotics may be prescribed as a preventative measure, or in more severe cases, as a treatment. Those suffering deep puncture wounds should return to a medical office within 5-7 days to have the wound and healing process evaluated. Deep wounds left untreated may heal at the skin while remaining deeply infected within the muscle tissues, resulting in abscesses. Anyone bitten by a raccoon should ensure they have a valid tetanus shot.
Risks
The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control states that the highest medical risk associated with raccoon bites is tetanus. If the bitten person does not have a current tetanus vaccination it should be administered as soon as possible.
The centre has no records of a raccoon in B.C. ever having the rabies virus. A rabies warning was however, issued for Stanley Park in June 2004 after 4 skunks tested positive for the Rabies virus. 15 people were treated for Rabies as a precautionary measure in June 2004. Most of those people had been bitten by raccoons while trying to feed or pat them. No raccoons or people were found to be infected by the virus. Prior to June 2004, the only species in B.C. which had tested positive for rabies had been in the bat population. There are, however, rabid foxes, skunks and raccoons in Eastern Canada.
The centre also states the risk of the Bayliss parasite being transferred through a raccoon bite is extremely minimal. The eggs are transmitted through fecal - oral contact and though a combination of secondary circumstances may arise in which the transmission is theoretically possible, it is highly unlikely.
