News Release
Jan. 11, 2016
The Texas Department of State
Health Services’ successful Oral Rabies Vaccination Program again takes flight this
week to prevent two strains of rabies from making a comeback in the state and to
resume a study of whether the same approach can effectively fight rabies in
skunks.
The ORVP was first
launched in 1995 in the middle of a massive outbreak of rabies in coyotes and
gray foxes in Texas. Each winter since, DSHS has dropped doses of rabies
vaccine from aircraft over wildlife habitat in the state. When wild animals eat
the vaccine packets, coated in tasty fishmeal crumbles, they become immune and
can’t spread rabies to livestock, pets or people.
“We’ve been able
to eliminate the coyote and gray fox strains of rabies from Texas but need to
continue to distribute vaccine along the Rio Grande to prevent wild animals
that migrate across the border from reintroducing the disease,” said Dr. Laura
Robinson, ORVP director. “We also continue to evaluate whether the same method can
help eliminate rabies in skunks in our test area of east-central Texas. If it
does prove effective, it could be used elsewhere.”
Planes
will take off from La Grange Tuesday afternoon to begin flights over the skunk
study area, covering portions of 17 counties from Madison and Walker in the
north, southwest to Bastrop, then southeast to Wharton and Fort Bend.
Operations at La Grange will take about a week, weather permitting, before crews
move to the border area for flights from Del Rio and then Alpine and Zapata. The
project is expected to be complete around Feb. 1.
DSHS will host a media availability at Fayette
Regional Air Center, 850 Airport Road, La Grange, from 9 a.m. to noon, Wednesday,
Jan. 13. Media can obtain audio and video of planes being loaded, taking off
and landing and interviews with key program staff.
The ORVP will drop
approximately 1 million doses of vaccine along the border this year and 1.4
million in the skunk study area. The vaccine has proven safe in more than 60
species of animals and is not a danger to humans, but people should avoid
handling the vaccine baits because human contact makes it less likely wild
animals will eat them. Dogs, cats and livestock that eat the vaccine baits are
not considered vaccinated against rabies.
Rabies
is a deadly virus spread through the saliva of infected animals, usually by a
bite. Preventing rabies is critical because once a person or animal displays clinical
signs, the disease is almost always fatal. Immunizing domestic animals is
crucial to stopping the spread of rabies. DSHS urges everyone to have their
pets vaccinated as required by law.
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(News Media Contact: Chris Van Deusen, DSHS Press Officer, 512-776-7753)
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