TAZEWELL COUNTY, Va. -If you live in Tazewell County, you may see low-flying airplanes or helicopters moving back and forth in the coming days. But don’t worry, what you’re seeing is not an aerial invasion; it’s actually an effort to stop the spread of rabies.
Beginning Wednesday, April 2nd and going for about two weeks, the USDA’s Wildlife Services are using aircraft to distribute an oral rabies vaccine, dropping packets from above to the forests below. These are baited with a fishy-smelling substance that encourages wild animals, especially raccoons, to bite into them, releasing the liquid vaccine into their mouths.
We spoke to Jordona Kirby, a field coordinator with the National Rabies Management Program for the USDA Wildlife Services, who says these vaccines have proven effective for the past thirty years. She says Wednesday’s distribution is part of a larger campaign across the Eastern United States, with Virginia being just one brick in the metaphorical wall from Maine to Alabama that will hopefully prevent rabies cases from making a westward expansion.
“…We have been able to locally eliminate rabies in key areas, and we have also importantly prevented its spread. Without conducting the program and managing wildlife rabies in raccoons, we could potentially see rabies spreading very quickly and much further from where it currently exists…” says Kirby.
Kirby says if you come across any of these vaccine packets, it’s best to leave them where they fall.
However, if they fall in an area with children or dogs, you should move them to the woods or throw them away. While they have been tested to be safe, consuming too much can make dogs sick.
Due to the fish-based scent added to them, Kirby suggests wearing gloves to pick them up if you want to avoid mess, smell, or allergic reactions to the fish.
According to a USDA press release, in total, the vaccines will be dropped in parts of “Bland, Giles, Grayson, Russell, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, and Wythe counties and the cities of Bristol and Abingdon.”
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