{"id":909675,"date":"2026-07-03T11:13:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T11:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/909675\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T11:13:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T11:13:49","slug":"lesion-covered-squirrels-with-potentially-life-threatening-virus-popping-up-in-backyards-across-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/909675\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesion-covered squirrels with potentially life-threatening virus popping up in backyards across US"},"content":{"rendered":"

Squirrels covered in wart-like growths are showing up in backyards in several states with a virus that can be fatal in some cases.<\/p>\n

Photos of these squirrels have circulated on social media, with residents expressing concern that the warts could be contagious to their pets or harm other wild animals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Phlox,<\/p>\n

Phlox, wet, after coming into Halfway Home Wildlife Rehab and receiving some care.<\/p>\n

The virus is called squirrel pox or squirrel fibroma, and it originated in the United Kingdom and is fatal to red squirrels.<\/p>\n

What Is Your State Animal? See The Official List Featuring All 50 States<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Squirrel pox presents as hairless tumors that grow on the skin of fox and gray squirrels. The tumors can be on any part of the squirrel’s body.<\/p>\n

\"Phlox,<\/p>\n

Phlox, the gray squirrel affected by squirrel pox, with warts all over her face a body.<\/p>\n

Laurie Brown, wildlife<\/a> research technician with the Ohio<\/a> Division of Wildlife<\/a>, said the fibromas typically resolve on their own.<\/p>\n

But in severe cases, these growths can interfere with a squirrel’s ability to eat, see or move, which can lead to starvation and increased risk of predation, often times becoming fatal.<\/p>\n

Ready For A Hunt? You Could Win Money For Hunting These Invasive Snakes During Annual Challenge<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

One possible instance of this happened in Ashtabula<\/a>, Ohio, in late May, when resident Jessie Crislip discovered a squirrel with lesions all over its head and eyes in her yard.<\/p>\n

\"Squirrel<\/p>\n

Squirrel affected with squirrel pox discovered in Ashtabula, Ohio, on May 25, 2026.<\/p>\n

“That poor squirrel suffered,” Crislip said, sharing photos of the animal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Brown said squirrel pox is related to other poxviruses that affect rabbits and deer.<\/p>\n

See It: Hammerhead Shark Spotted Off Long Island Coast As Scorching Holiday Heatwave Grips Eastern Us<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Theresa Carroll is the owner of Halfway Home Wildlife Rehab<\/a> based in Livonia<\/a>, Michigan<\/a>, and she has now cared for three different squirrels impacted by squirrel pox.<\/p>\n

Phlox, a gray squirrel, came to her in early June covered in warts from squirrel pox.<\/p>\n

\"Phlox's<\/p>\n

Phlox’s head the day she was released from Halfway Home Wildlife Rehab.<\/p>\n

Phlox was released from her care in late June after showing significant recovery.<\/p>\n

Carroll said she treated another squirrel with the virus in 2025 named Maxine. Maxine was a fox squirrel in similar condition to Phlox. She was released after nearly a month.<\/p>\n

Not All Bad: Cyborg Cockroaches Could One Day Help Save Lives<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Maxine's<\/p>\n

Maxine’s body covered in warts from squirrel pox.<\/p>\n

She said treatment is given in the form of immune support, until the squirrels show signs of recovery, then they are released.<\/p>\n

\"Maxine<\/p>\n

Maxine with squirrel pox all over her face.<\/p>\n

Bugsy is a gray squirrel currently in her care. She said he is eating and making slow progress toward release.<\/p>\n

Squirrel pox is more likely to infect young squirrels like Maxine.<\/p>\n

3 Alligator Encounters Turn Violent In Week’s Span, Leaving One Woman Dead In Florida<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“Transmission occurs through biting insects, such as mosquitos, which is the primary route of transmission between squirrels,” Brown said.<\/p>\n

She said other biting insects that can pass the virus include flies and biting midges.<\/p>\n

Not All Bad: Cyborg Cockroaches Could One Day Help Save Lives<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Brown said to combat the spread of squirrel pox to squirrels in your area, remove any standing water that mosquitoes may breed in.<\/p>\n

\"Maxine<\/p>\n

Maxine after recovering from squirrel pox.<\/p>\n

How To Watch Fox Weather<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

She suggested removing food sources to help cut back on contact with other squirrels.<\/p>\n

The virus isn’t known to transmit to humans or other animals besides squirrels.<\/p>\n

Original article source: Lesion-covered squirrels with potentially life-threatening virus popping up in backyards across US<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Squirrels covered in wart-like growths are showing up in backyards in several states with a virus that can…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":909676,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[27],"tags":[205660,367942,367941,159702,159,367940,67,132,68,837],"class_list":["post-909675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-gray-squirrels","tag-laurie-brown","tag-phlox","tag-red-squirrels","tag-science","tag-squirrel-pox","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-wildlife"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116855755000721910","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/909676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}