NOTICE ORAL RABIES VACCINATION AREA The Wildlife Services (WS) program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is working with the Ohio Department of Health to protect people and pets from the threat of rabies in your area. WS is distributing an oral rabies vaccination (ORV) bait to vaccinate raccoons, foxes, and coyotes and help stop further spread of rabies. ORV baits are about the size of a matchbox and are coated with fishmeal flavoring. ORV baits can be distributed by airplane, helicopter, or car. ORV Baits will be distributed between: September 1-30, 2011 What if I find rabies baits? If you find ORV baits, leave them alone, unless they are where children or pets play. To move ORV baits safely, you should: Wear gloves or use a paper towel or plastic bag when picking up the baits. Toss intact baits into a wooded area or other raccoon habitat. Bag and dispose of any damaged baits in the trash. Take precautions by practicing proper hygiene wash with soap and water any skin or wounds that may have come into contact with ORV baits, especially if the bait was damaged. What if my pet eats the bait? Don t panic! A few baits are not harmful, though eating a large number may cause an upset stomach. Do not risk getting bitten or being exposed to the vaccine by taking a bait away from your pet. Check the area for more baits and relocate any remaining baits to a wooded area. If your pet eats a bait, avoid your pet s saliva for 24 hours, and wash skin or wounds that may have been licked. Questions about ORV or bait you have found? Call the Rabies Information Line at 1-888-722-4371 or 614-752-1029. Call your local health department at:
Tell your children about the raccoon vaccination program and tell them to leave any baits alone. Do not attempt to take a bait away from your pet! That is the same as taking food away from an animal. You may be bitten. Baits may be picked up while wearing gloves, or with a plastic bag or towel. Do not handle a partially eaten or damaged bait with bare hands. Damaged baits should be placed in a baggie and disposed of in normal trash. If you touch the bait or the liquid vaccine (a red fluid inside the bait), thoroughly wash your hands or exposed skin with soap and water Call the Ohio Department of Health, Rabies Information Line (1-888-722-4371) to report any incidents or to answer questions. What does the bait look like? The oral rabies vaccine bait comes in two ways. The traditional bait is a brown square block made of fishmeal. The vaccine is inside a plastic packet inside the middle of the block. Another formulation is the coated sachet. It is just the plastic packet containing the vaccine that is coated in fishmeal and oil. Fishmeal is known to be very attractive to raccoons. The block is always used for ground baiting, and either can be used for aerial baiting. Rabies: Six ways to protect yourself and your family Do not feed, touch or adopt wild animals, and be cautious of stray dogs and cats. Rabid animals do not always appear vicious! Teach children to leave wildlife alone. Be sure your child knows to tell you if an animal bites or scratches them. Have your veterinarian vaccinate your dogs, cats or ferrets against rabies. Keep their vaccinations up-to-date. Tightly close garbage cans. Open trash attracts wild or stray animals to your home or yard. Feed your pets indoors; never leave pet food outside as this attracts wildlife. Call your doctor for advice if an animal bites you. Report the incident to your local health department. The Oral Rabies Vaccination Project is conducted by the Ohio Department of Health in cooperation with the Ohio Departments of Natural Resources and Agriculture, your local health departments, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services (USDA/APHIS/WS). Rabies Information Line 1-888-722-4371 Ohio Department of Health To protect and improve the health of all Ohioans Bob Taft, Governor Raccoons and Rabies Questions And Answers About Oral Rabies Vaccine
Why are there concerns about raccoons and rabies? Rabies is a viral infection that affects the nervous system of mammals, including humans. The disease is almost always fatal to both people and animals. Raccoon rabies spreads rapidly and infects large numbers of raccoons. The disease often spreads to other wildlife and pets, making human exposure a real concern. To address this problem, the Ohio Department of Health, with assistance and support from the Ohio Departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and federal and local partners, initiated a program to vaccinate wild raccoons along the Pennsylvania and West Virginia border to keep this epidemic from spreading throughout the state. This vaccination program protects everyone, not only the people in northeast Ohio. How is a raccoon vaccinated? A raccoon is vaccinated by eating a bait containing the vaccine. The raccoon will develop antibodies in two to three weeks. These antibodies will protect the raccoon if it is exposed to another infected raccoon. If enough raccoons are vaccinated, the disease will be stopped. Can the vaccine cause rabies? It is not possible to get rabies from the vaccine. The vaccine contains only a single gene of the rabies virus, not the entire virus. What if my dog or cat eats a bait? The bait is not harmful to pets or livestock if they find and eat one. Because additional baits may have been dropped nearby, check the area for more. Any other baits can be removed and placed where they are more likely to be found by a raccoon, not your pet. Is the bait or the vaccine harmful to people? The bait is made of fishmeal, an ingredient in animal feed so it is not harmful to touch an intact bait. However, the bait does have a strong odor, so wearing gloves is recommended. The vaccine (red liquid) inside the packet contains vaccinia virus. People with eczema and immunosuppressed conditions, may be prone to a local infection from vaccinia if the vaccine (red liquid) gets into a wound or abrasion. Use soap and water to wash any skin area exposed to the vaccine to prevent this. Please call the Ohio Department of Health, Rabies Information Line at 1-888-722-4371 for further advice. What if I find a bait near my home? Leave it alone if it is intact and in an area where pet or child contact is not likely. However, if the bait is out in the open or where contact by pets or children is possible, put on gloves and toss it into deeper cover. If the bait is broken open or damaged, wear gloves or protect your hands by using a paper towel or plastic bag before picking it up. However, a person should not touch the bait if they are less than 18 years of age, pregnant, or immunosuppressed. Can this vaccine be used to vaccinate my dog or cat against rabies? No, this vaccine is approved only for use in wildlife. A veterinarian, in accordance with state and local regulations, should vaccinate your pets. Pet vaccination is essential to protect your pet against rabies. TAKE THE BITE OUT OF How can I help? The bait is intended for wild animals specifically, raccoons. Everyone can help by keeping their pets inside or on leashes during the baiting time and about five days afterwards. This will help to prevent your pet from getting the baits and it gives raccoons a chance to eat the baits. Important reminders: Be aware of what the bait looks like. Keep dogs and cats inside or on leashes for several days after your area was baited. Most baits will be gone in about 3 days.
APHIS Factsheet Wildlife Services August 2009 Questions and Answers: Rabies and Oral Rabies Vaccination Q. What is rabies? A. Rabies is an invariably fatal disease caused by a virus that affects the central nervous system in mammals. Rabies can be prevented with vaccines that are available to protect people and pets. Q. How do you contract rabies? A. The rabies virus is almost always spread through contact with an infected animal s saliva when an infected animal bites through the skin of an uninfected animal or person. Q. Why should I be worried about rabies in wildlife? A. Rabies is a serious public health concern because if left untreated it is always fatal. The costs associated with detection, prevention, and control of rabies exceed $300 million annually. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 90 percent of reported rabies cases are in wildlife. As human populations expand into suburban and rural areas there is more interaction with wildlife, increasing the risk of rabies exposure. Q. How can I tell if an animal has rabies? A. To determine if an animal has rabies, it must be euthanized and a brain tissue sample tested. The visible signs of rabies may include any of the following: aggressive behavior, lethargy, confusion, attacking for no reason, or walking in a circle. Wildlife should never be approached at any time. If you have questions about wildlife, please contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture s (USDA) Wildlife Services at 1 866 4 USDA WS (1 866 487 3297). Q. What should I do if I am bitten by an animal? A. Wash the wounds thoroughly with soap and water right away. Contact your doctor, local health department, or hospital emergency room. If it is a domestic animal, get the name and address of the animal s owner. If it is a wild animal, contact your local health department, animal control, or professional wildlife trapper for assistance. If the animal is dead, wear gloves or use a shovel to move the animal. Put the carcass into a heavy plastic bag and place it in a cold area away from people and other animals. The area can be cleaned with one part bleach to ten parts water. Call your local health department for further instructions. Q. What can I do to prevent rabies? A. Avoid all contact with all wild animals. Make sure your pets are vaccinated in accordance with State and local laws. Report any animal acting suspiciously to USDA s Wildlife Services at 1 866 4 USDA WS (1 866 487 3297). Do not relocate wildlife. Q. What is an oral rabies vaccination (ORV) bait and what does it look like? A. WS and its cooperators distribute the ORV baits in targeted areas to vaccinate wildlife species such as coyotes, foxes, and raccoons to prevent the spread of rabies. An ORV bait consists of a sachet, or plastic packet containing Raboral V-RG rabies vaccine. To make the baits attractive to wildlife, the baits are either waxed to the inside of a fi shmeal or dogmeal outer shell or covered with fi shmeal crumbs. Q. Can I get rabies from contact with the vaccine? A. No. The vaccine does not contain the live rabies virus. It contains only a single gene that is passcoded with the outer coating of the rabies virus. The virus that carries this single gene may cause a local poxtype infection in people who are pregnant or immunosuppressed. If you come into contact with the vaccine, wash the exposed area thoroughly with soap and water and contact your local public health officials at 1 877 RABORAL (1 877 722 6725). Q. What if I find an oral rabies vaccination (ORV) bait near my home? A. It is best to leave a bait where you fi nd it unless it is on your lawn, driveway, or other area where it is not likely to attract a raccoon, fox, or coyote. While wearing a glove or other protective covering (i.e., plastic bag, paper towel), you can move bait to a wooded area where a wild animal will be more likely to fi nd it. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after any contact with a bait.
Q. Why do I need to wear a glove when handling an ORV bait? A. An intact bait will not harm you, but the smell, which is objectionable to people, may get on your skin. If the sachet is broken, pink liquid (vaccine) may be visible. While wearing gloves, you may place the bait in a bag and dispose of it with your regular trash. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after any contact with a bait. If you suspect you may have been exposed to the vaccine please contact your local public health officials at 1 877 RABORAL (1 877 722 6725). Q. What if I do not have a glove? A. You can use a plastic bag or paper towel to prevent you from coming into direct contact with the bait and vaccine. Be sure to dispose of it after use. Q. What if my child finds an ORV bait? A. The smell of the bait generally prevents children from playing with them or tasting them. If your child were to bring you an intact bait, you may place the bait into an area of thick cover. If your child brings you a broken bait, wash the exposed skin and contact your local public health officials at 1 877 RABORAL (1 877 722 6725), for further instructions and referral. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after any contact with a bait. Q. What if my dog or cat eats an ORV bait? A. This vaccine has been shown to be safe in more than 60 different species of animals, including domestic dogs and cats. Eating a large number of baits may cause a temporarily upset stomach in your pet, but it does not pose a long-term health risk. Do not attempt to remove a bait from your pet; doing so may cause you to be bitten and could lead to vaccine exposure. If your pet becomes ill from bait consumption, please contact your veterinarian for more information. Q. How long do ORV baits last in the environment? A. Studies have shown that most baits are eaten within 4 days, and almost all baits are gone in 1 week. If baits are not found and eaten, they will dissolve exposing the vaccine packet. Sunlight and exposure to air inactivates the vaccine. Q. Can I use the ORV bait to vaccinate my dog or cat? A. No. This vaccine is only approved for use in wildlife. Your pet should be vaccinated by a veterinarian in accordance with State and local laws. Q. How does a raccoon/coyote/gray fox get vaccinated by eating the ORV bait? A. The vaccine is contained inside a plastic packet, which is waxed to the inside of the bait s fi shmeal outer shell or covered with fi shmeal crumbs. When an animal eats through the coating, the vaccine packet inside is punctured allowing the animal to swallow the vaccine. The animal s immune system is then tricked into thinking it has been exposed to the rabies virus, and it makes antibodies to fi ght the disease. The blueprint on how to make these antibodies is stored in the animal s immune system allowing it to respond quickly if it is later exposed to a rabid animal. Q. How long does the vaccine last? A. Research suggests this vaccine should be effective for more than a year; however, it is difficult to determine how immune systems in individual animals will respond to the vaccine. Q. How do you distribute ORV baits in cities and suburban areas? A. Working with employees from cooperating agencies, WS distributes baits in urban and suburban areas by hand. This is the most effective approach for distributing the bait and minimizing human contact with them. Q. How else does WS distribute ORV baits? A. In rural or open areas, WS distributes baits using aircraft. Depending on the distribution area and availability of aircraft, a helicopter or fi xed wing aircraft may be used. Q. How can I find out more information about this program? A. You can dial 1 866 4 USDA WS (1 866 487 3297) to speak with staff from Wildlife Services or visit www.aphis.usda.gov/ws/rabies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA s TARGET Center at (202) 720 2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250 9410, or call (800) 795 3272 (voice) or (202) 720 6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Safeguarding American Agriculture