Rabies vaccination program under way in western, Pa.

HARRISBURG — The annual oral rabies vaccination baiting program, which helps control rabies in wild animals, is under way in 14 western Pennsylvania counties, said Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff.

The program covers all or parts of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Crawford, Erie, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

“Controlling the spread of rabies in wild animals is essential to human and domestic animal health,” Wolff said. “The number of reported rabies cases in these western Pennsylvania counties has been cut by nearly 20 percent in the last six years due in part to the success of this vaccination program.”

More than 90 percent of the reported rabies cases in the United States are found in wildlife, with raccoons making up more than half of this total. Although the primary focus of the program is to vaccinate raccoons, other animals including dogs, cats, cattle, horses, skunks and foxes benefit through reduced exposure to the rabies virus.

Since early August, trained employees have been spreading vaccine bait packs by hand in densely populated areas of northwestern Pennsylvania. Hand-baiting took place this week in many southwestern Pennsylvania counties. Beginning Sept. 2, low-flying aircraft will drop bait in sparsely populated areas.

The vaccine pack is coated or placed inside fishmeal bait. When an animal punctures the sealed plastic package, the pink-colored vaccine is released into its mouth.