Wildlife Officials to Distribute Fishmeal-Baited Oral Rabies Vaccines in Fight Against Raccoon Rabies 

To combat raccoon rabies in the region, wildlife officials will start delivering oral rabies vaccines in the form of fishmeal-baited packets via aircraft this week in Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee, and North Carolina.

The fishmeal smell of the packets attracts raccoons. The animals will eat ingest the packets and become rabies-immunized as a result.

Fishmeal-Baited Packets

According to the Tennessee Department of Health, USDA's Wildlife The Tennessee Department of Health reports that the USDA's Wildlife Services will drop off the packets in East Tennessee's urban areas by a low-flying helicopter. This will take place on October 3 to 8 in Hamilton and Bradley counties. From October 8 to 11, the area covered are Greene, Carter, Hawkins, Unicoi, Sullivan, and Washington counties

Rural areas will be covered by aircraft distribution. This includes Carter, Cocke, Johnson, Hawkins, Sullivan, Greene, Unicoi, and Washington counties from October 6 to 10. Meanwhile, Bledsoe, Bradley, Marion, Hamilton, McMinn, Monroe, Meigs, Polk, Rhea, and Sequatchie counties will be covered on October 10 to 15. According to the USDA, bait packets will also be dispersed between October 6 and October 16 in several western North Carolina counties, which include Mitchell, Ashe, Madison, and Yancey. The operators of the aircraft try to avoid dropping the packets on buildings, highways, and large bodies of water. A phone number for questions or assistance with the vaccine packets is marked on each packet.

To make the packets appealing to animals, a fishmeal coating has been applied to them.

Safety for Pet Cats and Dogs

Although the packets are safe for people and pets, according to wildlife officials, I t is best not to disturb them.

The USDA gave the following reminders for people with pets:

• Remove bait packets from areas where pets could easily discover and consume them.
• The pet should be restrained after discovering a bait packet, and the owner should search the area for additional bait. Tossing the bait packet into something like a fencerow or wooded area is advised. Gloves or a towel can be used.
• Owners risk getting bitten if they try to pry a bait packet from their pet's mouth.
• One bait packet consumed by a pet won't hurt it, but consuming multiple ones could upset its stomach.
• The scent of fishmeal will be overpowering in the bait packets. It is advised to always use gloves or a towel when picking up a bait packet, although there is no harm in coming into contact with undamaged bait packets.
• If the bait packet has burst, thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water.
• Tell kids to stay away from the bait packets.
• Each bait packet has a warning label that instructs people not to touch or handle the bait and lists the phone number for the rabies information line.

In western North Carolina, northern Georgia, Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee, and northeast Alabama, over 1.8 million ORV baits will be distributed, WGNO reports.