Rabies vaccination bait program keeps reports down in Allegheny County
Allegheny County Health Department workers Aaron Dovey (front) and Jason Caliguri toss rabies-vaccinated fishmeal baits into Settler’s Cabin Park.
The wax and fishmeal baits may be appetizing to pets, and county health workers assure owners they’re not harmful.
Reports of rabid animals in Allegheny County have been down over the past decade as the health department continues its annual baiting program.
There were 27 reports of rabid raccoons in 2001, when the program started, and only three in 2013, according to health department workers running the USDA bait program. Allegheny County Health Department workers began baiting for raccoons in Collier Township on Aug. 11. Two of the workers, Aaron Dovey and Jason Caliguri, had 5,000 fishmeal, wax and “vax” baits to toss in wooded areas across the township over two days.
“We’ll get through half of them today. There are 39 other two-man teams spread throughout the county who will place these right off of highways and mainly in wooded and green areas,” Caliguri said.
The two started baiting in Settler’s Cabin Park and worked their way south.
“The reduction in numbers each year shows this program is working,” Dovey said
“When we started, we were getting scary numbers … and this was to prevent rabies from spreading to other states and counties,” he said.
As for pet consumption, the baits aren’t harmful to animals. And it’s not surprising dogs seek out the gamey-smelling vaccinations.
“The worst case is your dog is immunized against rabies,” Caliguri said. “But just keep your pet on a leash and keep an eye on them if you don’t want them digging into the plastic dispersals that are inside each bait.”
Aerial baiting in other counties will have vaccines dropping from planes in September. Land baiting in Allegheny County is expected to be complete before the end of the month, health department spokesman Guillermo Cole said.