In ,
Beth Kevles wrote:
*
*I think, in the end, I'd be uncomfortable with this relationship, but
*consult with a vet and see how it goes.

I am not a wildlife expert, but I have a special interest in zoonoses and
can talk a little bit about those which may be carried or vectored by
squirrels. It will depend greatly on the geographic location, but, in
general:

1. Because Beth brings it up -- rabies can occur in rodents, but would be
considered rare. It is so rare in rodents that for example the State of
Florida, which has a big rabies epizootic, the state will not perform
testing of squirrels which bite humans because they consider the risk so
low. I do not believe there is a rabies vaccine licensed for use in
squirrels, and I have no knowledge of using the available vaccines in an
extralabel fashion in the squirrel. A wildlife person would know this.

2. Yersinia pestis (plague, black death, etc). This is carried by fleas,
actually, which may be present on the squirrel. In the western US states
(and in other areas) this is a particular problem.

3. Various rodent viruses - most of these are generally more a problem
when you come into contact with aerosolized urine/feces than the actual
animal.

4. Tularemia - more often spread by handling of carcasses or by
ticks/fleas/biting flies, but there are documented cases of squirrel bite
transmission.

5. Typhus has, I know, been associated with flying squirrels. I am not
sure about other types of squirrels.

6. I have a personal mild concern regarding bayliscascaris procyonis,
which is a raccoon parasite known to cause visceral larva migrans in
squirrels and other animals, including humans (and it can be fatal or
cause horrible neurological complications). While the squirrel is an
aberrant host, and thus can't develop a patent infection and pass eggs to
infect someone else, so is the dog - and there HAVE been a very few case
reports of dogs developing patent infections, and hence I imagine it would
be possible in the squirrel as well, although it hasn't been seen to
happen yet.

There may be - actually, probably ARE, since this is not my field of
expertise - more zoonoses on this list, but this is what comes to mind.

-Hillary Israeli, VMD, companion animal practice

--
hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net
"uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large