Lede Sentence of the Day

"The next time you see a raccoon pictured with a park ranger's hat, imagine it instead with the robe and scythe of the grim reaper."

Whoa! That got my attention! Let's read on:

Bellingham resident Jon Shaughnessy learned about the downside of raccoons soon after he found some of their potentially deadly droppings beneath his porch.

"I said, 'Whoa, this is serious stuff,'" he said. "People die from it."

He's right. Read on, but the story isn't pretty.

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?

Many raccoons have roundworms called Baylisascaris in their intestines. The roundworms produce millions of eggs, which are passed on in the raccoon's feces. Those hardy eggs can take hold inside people and can cause fatal brain infections.

It's been out there all this time, and I never knew!

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?

Many raccoons have roundworms called Baylisascaris in their intestines. The roundworms produce millions of eggs, which are passed on in the raccoon's feces. Those hardy eggs can take hold inside people and can cause fatal brain infections.

WHERE IS THE PROBLEM?

Infected raccoons have been found throughout the country. The critters often defecate in woodpiles; beneath porches; by and on trees; on decks, roofs and garages; and on flat surfaces, such as logs, stumps and large rocks.

When researchers inspected the backyards of 119 suburban Chicago homes, they found raccoon latrines in 61 of them. Fourteen of the latrines had roundworm eggs.

Raccoon feces, by the way, are generally dark, tubular and blunt in shape, strong-smelling, and often full of seeds and other food debris.

HOW DO PEOPLE BECAME SICK?

People who ingest the eggs risk illness and death. Once inside your intestines, the eggs hatch into larvae, which can travel to the brain, liver, spinal cord and other parts of your body.

Victims often are children who have put infected dirt, objects or water in their mouth.

Okay, so you have to eat it. I don't know anyone who eats raccoon shit. Wait a minute - - "infected dirt, objects or water in their mouth." Damn, that means you can get it just from drinking water in the wild. Yet another reason to never go camping!

Gah. Even the Boy Scouts never warned us about raccoon shit. Maybe they need to add that to their manual, give out a Merit Badge for identifying and cleaning up raccoon shit safely.

SPREAD THE WORD! IT'S OUT THERE! IT COULD BE IN YOUR YARD!