Baits ready for drop. These biscuit-like baits contain rabies vaccine for raccoons. Most are dropped from an aircraft that is specially equipped with a conveyor belt that holds the baits. The USDA Wildlife Services works cooperatively with state agencies to vaccinate the raccoons from rabies to protect agriculture and humans. USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service official photo.

Why raccoons?

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is trying to halt the westward spread of rabies by inoculating raccoons in several states including Pennsylvania.

The program works by air-dropping fishcakes from the airplanes early next week.

There are seven different strains of rabies prevalent in the United States. The agency is keying on the raccoon strain because these animals tend to have more contact with humans, their pets and livestock.

The rain of fishcakes is also slated for other eastern states such as Texas, New York, Vermont and West Virginia. The vaccine is effective against coyotes, foxes and raccoons.

"There's so many of them, and they're susceptible to rabies," said Teresa Howes, a USDA spokesperson. "We're also looking to protect agriculture and people, cause obviously if your pet gets bit, your risk increases. It's also because raccoons live in urban areas, so it's a way to protect people from getting bit by a rabid raccoon."

State agencies and USDA Wildlife Services work cooperatively to prepare and place the biscuit-like baits on the aircraft. This reparation is to vaccinate raccoons from rabies. USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service official photo.

Those tasty cubes (at least to raccoons) have already been fed to Ohio's masked critters. Preliminary results from that effort show that the raccoons are taking the bait according to Chip Lovell of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services division.

"We found that in Ohio, that 33 percent of the raccoons that have actually been captured have eaten these baits," he said. "Once we catch a raccoon, we vaccinate them with an intra-muscular vaccine, take blood samples and tooth samples to determine if they've eaten these baits, and then we release the animal where we've captured it."
The program is credited with helping reduce the number of rabid raccoons in Ohio each year since the program began in 1997 according to the USDA.

"What we do is create a barrier of healthy raccoons," said Gary Nohrenberg, of USDA APHIS, "which prevents rabid raccoons from moving into an area and exposing animals."
The fishcakes/vaccine combination is strong enough that all a raccoon need do is take one bite of the cake. If a drop of the vaccine makes it to the animal's tonsil, vaccination should be successful said, Kim Winfisinger-Slay of the Ohio Department of Health.

"The vaccine is delivered in what looks like a biscuit," Howes said. "It's small and green, and inside is a little pouch with the vaccine. The raccoons will eat it and be vaccinated.
"But this isn't something that's done just one time. You do this over time to decrease the risk, it's all about decreasing risk."

The planes, people and equipment come from Canada. Ontario has been using this method of vaccination to deal with a fox-spread strain of rabies for about 10 years now.