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    Pathogens

    2022 Oral Rabies Vaccine Efforts Underway in Eastern United States

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    Wildlife Services rabies biologists take a tissue sample from an anesthetized raccoon. The test will determine whether or not this animal ingested enough rabies vaccine to be protected. Baiting rabies vaccines is part of Wildlife Services' National Rabies Management Program. Photo credit: Anson Eaglin, USDA-APHIS

    Beginning in early August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has been conducting its annual fall distribution of RABORAL V-RG®, an oral rabies vaccine bait, in select areas in the eastern United States to prevent the spread of raccoon rabies into America’s heartland.

    APHIS’ Wildlife Services and its cooperators will begin distributing oral rabies vaccine baits on or about August 6 across rural areas by airplane and in suburban or urban areas by helicopter, vehicle and bait station. Oral rabies baits are coated with a fishmeal attractant and are packaged in two-inch plastic sachets or one-inch square cubes.

    This device dispenses Oral Rabies Vaccine (ORV) treats for wildlife. The animal can take the bait from the bottom of the tube. The bait is either a small sachet coated in flavor, or a fishmeal polymer cube. Both deliver the oral vaccination through ingestion. This device costs about $15 to make. Photo by Betsy Haley, USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services.
    A raccoon takes the bait from an Oral Rabies Vaccine (ORV) bait station in Florida. The raccoon eats the bait and is vaccinated against rabies. Visitation rates by raccoons to bait stations in Florida have been documented at greater than 50%. Photo by Betsy Haley, USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services.

    Wildlife Services and cooperators will distribute the baits in select areas and time periods as follows:

    In Northeast to Mid-Atlantic States during August:

    • The Houlton, Maine, project will cover parts of northern Maine and distribute approximately 348,000 ORV baits by airplane and vehicle.
    • The Upshur, W.Va., project will cover parts of western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and a small area in southwestern Virginia, distributing approximately 535,000 ORV baits by airplane and vehicle.

    In Massachusetts from mid-September through mid-October:

    • The Cape Cod, Mass., project will cover parts of peninsular Massachusetts and distribute more than 70,000 ORV baits by helicopter, bait station and vehicle.

    In Southern states, during October:

    • The Abingdon, Va., project will cover parts of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia and distribute more than 880,000 ORV baits by airplane, helicopter, and vehicle.
    • The Dalton, Ga., project will cover parts of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, distributing approximately 820,000 ORV baits by airplane and helicopter.
    • The Gadsden, Ala., project will cover parts of Alabama (including the Greater Birmingham area) and distribute approximately 1.1 million baits by airplane, helicopter, and vehicle.
    The blister pack, containing the ONRAB® vaccine, is made attractive to wildlife by a sweet coating that includes vegetable-based fats, wax, icing sugar, vegetable oil, artificial marshmallow flavor, and dark-green food-grade dye. Results from the 2011 U.S. field trial were promising and warranted the expanded testing needed for potential licensure by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB). The vaccine has been successfully used in Canada to vaccinate raccoons, skunks and foxes against rabies. Field crews distribute the ORV baits by plane or on the ground by hand. If you find one of these, please leave it where you found it. Distributing rabies vaccines is part of Wildlife Services’ National Rabies Management Program. Photo by Jordona Kirby, USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services.

    Rabies is a serious public health concern. While rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, it also is 100% preventable. Human exposures can be successfully remedied if medical attention is sought immediately following exposure. Costs associated with rabies detection, prevention and control may exceed $500 million annually in the United States. According to the CDC, about 90 percent of reported rabies cases in the U.S. are in wildlife.

    For additional information concerning rabies or the ORV program, please visit the National Rabies Management Program website or contact Wildlife Services (in the U.S.) at 1-866-4-USDA-WS (1-866-487-3297).

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