Dec.
12, 2012 — Rare brain tumors emerging among raccoons in Northern
California and Oregon may be linked to a previously unidentified virus
discovered by a team of researchers, led by scientists from the University of
California, Davis. Their findings, published December 12 in the journal Emerging
Infectious Diseases, could lead to a better understanding of how viruses can
cause cancer in animals and humans.
Necropsies
conducted since March 2010 by scientists at the UC Davis School of Veterinary
Medicine and UC Davis-led California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory
found brain tumors in 10 raccoons, nine of which were from Northern California,
the article reports. The 10th was sent to UC Davis by researchers at Oregon
State University in Corvallis, Ore.
The
common factor, found in all of the tumors, was a newly described virus, dubbed
raccoon polyomavirus. Researchers suspect this virus contributes to tumor
formation.
Polyomaviruses,
which are prevalent but rarely cause cancer, do not typically cross from one
species to another, so the outbreak is not expected to spread to people or
other animals.
Two
more raccoons with the tumor and the virus have been found in Yolo and Marin
counties since September 2012, when the article was submitted to the journal
for publication.
"Raccoons
hardly ever get tumors," said study author Patricia Pesavento, a
pathologist with the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "That's why
we take notice when we get three tumors, much less 12."
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