• Journal of the korean veterinary medical association
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• v.46 no.8
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• pp.747-764
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• 2010

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.361-365
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• 2022

We report a species of diplostomid fluke recovered from 3 carcasses of wild Korean raccoon dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides koreensis, in Korea. A total of 107 diplostomid flukes were recovered from the small intestines of Korean raccoon dogs, which were obtained from the Gangwon Wildlife Medical Rescue Center. Worms fixed with 10% neutral formalin were subjected to microscopic observation and those fixed in 70% ethanol were used for molecular genomic analysis. The worm was divided into 2 separate parts, forebody and hindbody, with a total length of 3,020-4,090 (3,855) ㎛ and a width of 1,210-1,770 (1,562) ㎛. The boat-shaped forebody has a pair of characteristic tentacular appendage, 2 suckers, holdfast organ, and vitelline follicles. The oval to cylindrical hindbody has reproductive organs. The ovary was round or elliptical and located in the anterior of the testes. Two large testes were slightly segmented and tandemly arranged, occupying almost half of hindbody. The short uterus contained a relatively small number of unembryonated eggs sized 130-140×85-96 ㎛. The partial sequence of 18S rRNA of this fluke was consistent with Alaria alata. Based on the morphological and molecular characteristics, the diplostomid flukes recovered from the small intestine of Korean raccoon dogs were identified as A. alata (Digenea: Diplostomidae).

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.9-18
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• 2012

Rabies is a major zoonotic disease that causes approximately 55,000 human deaths worldwide on an annual basis. The nucleocapsid protein and glycoprotein genes of the Korean rabies virus (RABV) have been subjected to molecular and phylogenetic analyses. Although the phosphoprotein (P) has several important functions in viral infection and pathogenicity, the genetic characterizations of the P of Korean RABV isolates have not yet been established. In the present study, we conducted genetic analyses of P genes of 24 RABV isolates circulating in the Republic of Korea (hereafter, Korea) from 2008 to 2011. This study revealed that the P genes of Korean RABVs are genetically similar to those of RABV strains of lyssavirus genotype I including V739 (dogs, Korea), NNV-RAB-H (humans, India), NeiMeng925 (raccoon dogs, China), and RU9.RD (raccoon dogs, Russia). Among Korean isolates, the RABV P genes showed low variability in the variable domains among Korean isolates; they had specific consensus sequences and amino acid substitutions capable of identifying geographic characteristics and retained specific sequences thought to be important for viral function. These results provide important genetic characteristics and epidemiological information pertaining to the P gene of the Korean RABV.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.456-458
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• 2013

The aim of this study is to evaluate the reference value for electrocardiogram in healthy captive raccoon dogs. Forty-one free-ranging adult raccoon dogs rescued from Wildlife rescue centre, Kangwon National University were enrolled in this study. The 6-lead electrocardiogram was obtained in all raccoon dogs without any chemical restraints. The mean heart rate was $146.10{\pm}43.31$ beats/min (95% confidence interval 132.84~159.36 beats/min). The mean respiration rate was $35.73{\pm}11.56$ breaths/min (95% confidence interval 32.19~39.27 breaths/min). The mean systolic blood pressure was $136{\pm}29.26$ mmHg (95% confidence interval 127.99~145.91 mmHg). Electrocardiographical features were also evaluated in all raccoon dogs. The mean duration and amplitude of P-wave were $38.2{\pm}4.0$ ms (range 28-40 ms) and $0.128{\pm}0.039$ mV (range 0.09~0.20). The mean duration and amplitude of QRS complexes were $48.5{\pm}7.2ms$ (range 36-60 ms) and $1.330{\pm}0.650$ mV (range 0.15~2.30). The range of the mean electrical (QRS) axis was $-91^{\circ}{\sim}+96^{\circ}$ ($10^{\circ}{\sim}60^{\circ}$; 95% of confidence interval). The mean corrected QT (QTc) interval was $273.7{\pm}32.7ms$ (range 212-333 ms), while the mean PR interval was $76.1{\pm}10.0ms$ (range 50-82 ms). To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to provide references in electrocardiogram (ECG) in healthy captive raccoon dogs.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.189-191
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• 2009

Four feral cats and a raccoon dog purchased from a local collector on Aphaedo Island, Shinan-gun, where human Gymnophalloides seoi infections are known to be prevalent, were examined for their intestinal helminth parasites. From 2 of 4 cats, a total of 310 adult G. seoi specimens were recovered, Other helminths detected in cats included Heterophyes nocens (1,527 specimens), Pygidiopsis summa (131), Stictodora fuscata (4), Acanthotrema felis (2), Spirometra erinacei (15), toxocarids (4), and a hookworm (1). A raccoon dog was found to be infected with a species of echinostome (55), hook-worms (7), toxocarids (3), P. summa (3), and S. erinacei (1). No G. seoi was found in the raccoon dog. The results indicate that feral cats and raccoon dogs on Aphaedo are natural definitive hosts for intestinal trematodes and cestodes, including G. seoi, H. nocens, and S. erinacei, It has been first confirmed that cats, a mammalian species other than humans, play the role of a natural definitive host for G. seoi on Aphaedo Island.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.567-575
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• 2018

Present study was performed to describe the morphological and molecular characterization of Toxocara tanuki (Nematoda: Ascaridae) from Korean raccoon dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides koreensis, naturally infected in the Republic of Korea (Korea). Juvenile and adult worms of T. tanuki were recovered in 5 out of 10 raccoon dogs examined and the larval worms were detected in 15 out of 20 muscle samples (75%). Small lateral alae were observed on the cranial end of the body in male and female adults and 2 long spicules (3.0-3.5 mm) were characteristically observed in the posterior end of males. In SEM observation, 18 pairs of proximal precloacal, a precloacal median, a postcloacal median and 5 pairs of postcloacal papillae were uniquely revealed in the posterior portion of males, but the proximal papillae were not shown in the lateral ends of females. Molecular analysis on the 18S rRNA partial DNA sequences was revealed the same finding in both samples, adult worms and muscle larvae, which are closely related to T. tanuki. In conclusion, it was confirmed for the first time that T. tanuki is indigenously distributed, the Korean raccoon dog is acted as the natural definitive host of this nematode in Korea and the morphological characteristics of T. tanuki were shown in specific structure for single postcloacal median papilla in male.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.159-176
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• 2023

The conservation of the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) in South Korea requires the protection and preservation of natural habitats while additionally ensuring coexistence with human activities. Applying habitat map modeling techniques provides information regarding the distributional patterns of raccoon dogs and assists in the development of future conservation strategies. The purpose of this study is to generate potential habitat distribution maps for the raccoon dog in South Korea using geospatial technology-based models. These models include the frequency ratio (FR) as a bivariate statistical approach, the group method of data handling (GMDH) as a machine learning algorithm, and convolutional neural network (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) as deep learning algorithms. Moreover, the imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA) is used to fine-tune the hyperparameters of the machine learning and deep learning models. Moreover, there are 14 habitat characteristics used for developing the models: elevation, slope, valley depth, topographic wetness index, terrain roughness index, slope height, surface area, slope length and steepness factor (LS factor), normalized difference vegetation index, normalized difference water index, distance to drainage, distance to roads, drainage density, and morphometric features. The accuracy of prediction is evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. The results indicate comparable performances of all models. However, the CNN demonstrates superior capacity for prediction, achieving accuracies of 76.3% and 75.7% for the training and validation processes, respectively. The maps of potential habitat distribution are generated for five different levels of potentiality: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high.

• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.34-41
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• 2023

In recent years, as the range of human activities has increased, the introduction of alien species has become frequent. Among them, raccoons have been designated as harmful animals since 2020. Raccoons are similar in size and shape to raccoon dogs, so they generally need to be distinguished in capturing them. To solve this problem, we use VGG19, ResNet152V2, InceptionV3, InceptionResNet and NASNet, which are CNN deep learning models specialized for image classification. The parameters to be used for learning are pre-trained with a large amount of data, ImageNet. In order to classify the raccoon and raccoon dog datasets as outward features of animals, the image was converted to grayscale and brightness was normalized. Augmentation methods were applied using left and right inversion, rotation, scaling, and shift to create sufficient data for transfer learning. The FCL consists of 1 layer for the non-augmented dataset while 4 layers for the augmented dataset. Comparing the accuracy of various augmented datasets, the performance increased as more augmentation methods were applied.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.195-199
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• 2024

A free-range wild raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) was rescued with cachexia. Physical examination revealed generalized hyperkeratosis and alopecia typical of scabies as well as hypothermia (35.6℃). The patient was obtunded and severely dehydrated (10%). Hematological parameters included a low packed cell volume (PCV; 15%) and hemoglobin concentration, leukocytosis, and hypoglycemia. A blood smear revealed different subtypes of hypochromic leptocytes, indicating a regenerative response against severe anemia. This case was initially tentatively diagnosed as a severe anemia due to chronic external bleeding presumed to be caused by scabies-induced skin injuries. Darbepoetin alpha (DPO), iron dextran, and fluralaner were administered at the initial presentation, and supportive care including oxygen supplementation, warming, and nutritional support was provided. However, on day 5, the PCV dropped to 5.9% presumably caused by rapid rehydration due to drinking water ad libitum. DPO was boosted on days 5 and 6 along with daily iron dextran. On day 21, the PCV had recovered to 19.8%, and a blood smear evaluation showed a strong regenerative response. This case shows that even if severe anemia occurs in a raccoon dog, it can be managed with an appropriate response. In particular, since the rehydration rate due to food intake is faster than the hematopoietic response rate of raccoon dogs, the PCV may decrease rapidly in the early stage of treatment; therefore, diagnostic examination and additional medical management for hematopoiesis are necessary.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.131-137
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• 2022

Osteomyelitis typically occurs because of the direct inoculation of bacteria or fungi after penetrating trauma or surgical contamination or, by extension, from soft tissue infection. Osteomyelitis is rarely reported in wildlife animals, though severe chronic osteomyelitis cases do exist in wildlife owing to the scarcity of medical support in the wild environment. This report describes three cases of chronic osteomyelitis in wild raccoon dogs related to trauma. The typical symptoms of three reported cases were ataxia, stiffness, muscle atrophy, and lethargy. All three cases were relevant to traumatic or severe external injury, and skin infestation caused by ectoparasites was apparent on an ocular inspection. In the radiographic examination, diffuse sites of osteolytic lesions and remarkable periosteal responses were demonstrated around the injured limb in all three cases. Apparent neutrophilia with a left shift, lymphocytosis, and monocytosis in hematological examinations generally indicated chronic infection as shown in case 1 and 3. Treatment was attempted with broad-spectrum antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, enrofloxacin, clindamycin, and meloxicam. These treatment options helped improve the overall prognosis of chronic osteomyelitis, but the outcomes did not meet the treatment goal entirely. Osteomyelitis can be extremely challenging to treat, particularly in wild animals, because of their distinctive traits, such as masking phenomenon and uncontrolled exposure to ectoparasites. Earlier diagnosis with a radiographic examination, hematological examinations, and careful patient monitoring, followed by prolonged antibiotic therapy and restricted exercise, are the key factors leading to a better prognosis.