LABORATORY OBSERVATIONS ON THE INSUSCEPTIBILITY OF RACCOONS TO Dirofilaria immitis

Abstract

Two raccoons, Procyon lotor, were exposed to D. immitis by s.c. injection of infective 3rd stage larvae obtained from experimentally-infected Aedes trivittatus. Nematodes were not recovered from either raccoon when examined at necropsy 223 and 254 days postexposure. Large numbers of adult D. immitis were found in 6 dogs used as controls. These data indicate that raccoons cannot support the development of D. immitis.