The U.S. Department of Agriculture is distributing bait packets containing an oral rabies vaccine across 14 central and north Alabama counites to try to reduce rabies in raccoons and the related public health risks.
The Alabama Department of Public Health announced that the USDA Wildlife Services is using low-flying planes and helicopters to drop coated sachet baits with the RABORAL V-RG® vaccine over a zone of about 14,000 square kilometers.
The area includes parts of Autauga, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Coosa, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, Jefferson, Marshall, St. Clair, Shelby, and Talladega counties.
More than 30,000 of the oral rabies vaccine baits are being distributed from ground vehicles in the Birmingham metro area through Thursday.
The bait packets used in the urban and suburban areas are square blocks made of fishmeal and fish oil that attract raccoons. When raccoons bite into the packets, their gums are exposed to the vaccine.
The baits aerially distributed over most of the zone are plastic packets of vaccine coated with an oily, fish-scented substance to attract raccoons and other animals that carry rabies.
Read more: Horse tests positive for rabies: Alabama health officials advise caution
The oral vaccine packets pose no risk of rabies to humans or animals if exposed.
People who see one of the packets are advised to leave it for wildlife.
If they do handle a packet, they are advised to wear gloves, place it in an area where a raccoon may find it, or dispose of it in the trash.
Occasionally, skin reactions occur in humans. It is best to avoid direct contact with the skin, eyes or mucous membranes with the vaccine.
If exposure occurs accidentally, then it is recommended that the person wash hands with warm water and soap. Should more serious reactions occur, there is a telephone number on the vaccine packet to call the office of State Public Health Veterinarian Dr. Dee W. Jones for more information.
“I understand the concern from citizens and owners when an ORV packet is found in an unintended place or when there is an unintended exposure, but I am hopeful that people keep the big picture in mind, and that is actually reducing the risk of rabies exposures in Alabama by vaccinating raccoons,” Jones said in a news release.
“The vaccine packets have been proven to be very safe by historical data collected from incidental exposures. I believe the ORV program benefits public health, animal welfare and wildlife.”
For more information, call the USDA at 1-866-487-3297. For more information about rabies exposures or animal or human exposures to the oral rabies vaccines, please call the Alabama Department of Public Health at 1-800-338-8374.
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