<\/p>\n
Erie County residents are being advised that wildlife rabies vaccine baits will be distributed across the county beginning August 12 as part of a nationwide effort to prevent the spread of rabies among wild animal populations.<\/p>\n
The annual vaccination campaign will involve both aerial and ground distribution of oral rabies vaccine packets in rural, suburban, and wildlife habitat areas throughout the county. Weather permitting, fixed-wing aircraft will distribute vaccine bait over rural areas from August 12 through August 21.<\/p>\n
Erie County Department of Health staff will place baits on the ground through August 24. Helicopters are scheduled to target suburban areas from September 14 through September 19.<\/p>\n
Health officials stress that residents should not touch or move vaccine packets unless absolutely necessary. Most baits are consumed by wildlife, primarily raccoons, within four days, and nearly all are gone within a week. Any uneaten baits will eventually dissolve, and the vaccine becomes inactive once exposed to the environment.<\/p>\n
If residents must move a bait packet, they should wear gloves or use a plastic bag or paper towel to avoid direct contact. Damaged packets should be disposed of in the trash, while intact packets can be placed in wooded areas or other suitable wildlife habitats.<\/p>\n
Anyone who comes into direct contact with the vaccine material should wash their hands immediately and contact the New York State Department of Health Rabies Information Line at (888) 574-6656.<\/p>\n
County health officials are also encouraging residents to take several precautions during the distribution period and for one week afterward:<\/p>\n
Supervise children’s outdoor activities.<\/p>\n
Keep dogs and cats indoors when possible.<\/p>\n
Follow local leash laws to reduce the likelihood that pets will find and consume the bait.<\/p>\n
Avoid attempting to remove bait from a pet’s mouth if doing so could result in a bite.<\/p>\n
Officials note that the vaccine bait is not expected to harm pets, although animals that consume multiple packets may experience vomiting. Pet owners with concerns should consult their veterinarian.<\/p>\n
The rabies vaccination program is designed to create a protective barrier against the disease in wildlife populations, reducing the risk of transmission to pets, livestock and humans.<\/p>\n
Residents with questions or concerns about vaccine packets or potential exposure are encouraged to contact the NYSDOH Rabies Information Line at (888) 574-6656.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Erie County residents are being advised that wildlife rabies vaccine baits will be distributed across the county beginning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[136,142,138,137,111303,41794,12364,111302],"class_list":["post-263343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-erie","tag-erie-county","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news","tag-oral-rabies-vaccine","tag-public-health-campaign","tag-rabies","tag-wildlife-vaccination"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}