Rotavirus-associated diarrhea in young raccoons (Procyon lotor), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)

Electron microscopy and a commercial ELISA test for rotavirus antigen were used to diagnose rotavirus infection in diarrheic raccoons (Procyon lotor), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Gross and histopathological changes in two raccoons and two red foxes were found to be very similar to those described previously in rotavirus mediated diarrhea in other animals. While an etiology for the diarrhea is not definitively established, it would appear to involve rotavirus alone or possibly in concert with enteropathogenic coliform bacteria, overfeeding of a commercial kitten milk replacer and the stresses of captivity.