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You are Here: Home Page > 1997 Press Releases > Raccoon Rabies Vaccine Drop Planned  

Raccoon Rabies Vaccine Drop Planned

Albany, March 25 – The State Health Department today announced as part of its efforts to reduce the incidence of raccoon rabies it will begin dropping raccoon rabies vaccine in remote parts of Albany and Rensselaer counties.

Researchers plan to drop about 10,000 doses of vaccine, contained in hollow fish meal biscuits, by helicopter on March 31 if weather permits. The airborne distribution will take place in isolated areas along both sides of the Hudson River from Albany southward to Greene and Columbia county borders, and in other inaccessible locations adjacent to railroad tracks, the Thruway, Interstate 90, Normanskill Creek, and Curtis Mountain, near Stephentown. The project is being carried out by the State Department of Health, in cooperation with the State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The vaccine presents no danger to either humans or domestic animals. Each bait package is labeled with instructions that it be left undisturbed and the State Health Department's telephone number is included for those who would like further information.

An additional 20,000 bait packages are being placed along roadsides and other spots that can be reached by motor vehicle or on foot. The total distribution area covers 225 square miles of southern Albany and Rensselaer counties. This marks the sixth and concluding phase of study designed to test whether oral vaccination can reduce the incidence of rabies in wildlife in an area where the disease is already well established. Researchers also are also trying to determine if good results can still be achieved while using fewer baits.

A total of 60,000 baits containing raccoon rabies vaccine was first distributed in the Capital District study site in the fall of 1994. Since then, the number has been reduced in stages.

Researchers again will live–trap raccoons in the treated area during the summer to find out how well wildlife vaccination is working. Results, to date, in the Capital Region have been promising. More than 47 percent of the 450 raccoons tested were immune to the disease and rabies has been effectively suppressed in the vaccination area. However, health officials stress that oral vaccination can not replace traditional rabies prevention measures, such as vaccination of pets and human post–exposure treatment.

3/25/97–32 OPA