The Prevalence of Zoonotic Diseases in Raccoons from New Orleans, LA

Laura E. Garcia, 3rd year Veterinary Medicine Student from LSU Baton Rouge and summer research intern to Dr. Susanne Straif-Bourgeois, Epidemiology faculty in the LSUHSC School of Public Health, presented her findings at the National Veterinary Scholars Symposium (NVSS). The NVSS is a premier annual scientific colloquium which showcases research accomplishments by veterinary students completing summer research internships.  The symposium highlights the ways veterinary scientists advance basic and applied biomedical and environmental research. This year’s symposium was held at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. The major themes of the meeting were neuroscience, global health, conservation medicine, and comparative oncology. Presentations from veterinary students were featured throughout the meeting, and included a student-focused session on professional development. Laura Garcia’s presentation, Baylisascaris procyonis and Trypanosoma cruzi: the prevalence of zoonotic diseases in raccoons from New Orleans, LA focused on the expansion of raccoons into urban populations and the spread of disease in their role as vectors.