Phagicola angrense (Digenea: Heterophyidae) as a cause of enteritis in a raccoon (Procyon lotor)

Numerous Phagicola angrense were associated with enteritis in a single male juvenile raccoon (Procyon lotor) live-trapped on Parramore Island, Virginia (USA). The raccoon was weak, ataxic and had melenic soft feces. The carcass was emaciated, pale and had ascites. Mesenteric vessels appeared prominent and the stomach and the intestines contained fetid bloody material. The small intestinal mucosa contained three locally extensive sites of necrosis. Histopathologically, there were numerous small digeneans both attached to the mucosa and free within the lumen. Digeneans were usually found deep within the crypts where the epithelium was markedly attenuated and devoid of epithelial cells at the point of parasite attachment. In the lamina propria there were areas of acute hemorrhage and infiltration with plasma cells and eosinophils. This appears to be the first record of severe enteritis in the raccoon caused by this digenean.