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Oral Rabies Vaccination

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Wildlife Services works cooperatively with local, State, and Federal governments,

universities and other partners to to reduce wildlife rabies by distributing oral rabies

vaccine (ORV) baits in targeted areas. 

Vaccinating Wildlife to Protect Domestic Animals

and Save Lives

Rabies is a deadly viral disease that affects the nervous system of mammals.

Several different variants of the rabies virus exist in the United States. Each variant

is spread predominantly by one wildlife species, but all variants are capable of

infecting mammals, including humans. Raccoons and skunks account for the most

reported cases, but bats, foxes, and coyotes are also among the commonly infected

wildlife species.

People are most frequently exposed to the rabies virus through their pets. Dogs and

cats can become infected by means of exposure to rabid wildlife. Fortunately, rabies

can be prevented through the use of vaccines for humans, pets, livestock and

wildlife. By combining the expertise of human health care providers, veterinarians,

and wildlife professionals, rabies management programs can improve the health and

well-being of all species impacted by the disease. Such partnerships make the
management of rabies the premier example of a One Health approach.

Benefits of Vaccinating Wildlife

Reduced human exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis costs

Reduced epizootic-related pet vaccination, quarantine, and euthanasia

Reduced burden on State services for animal diagnostic tests

Reduced livestock losses

Preventing Rabies in Wildlife

In the United States, approximately 90 percent of reported rabies cases occur in

wildlife. Wildlife species that are often susceptible to rabies, such as raccoons, thrive

in many environments and maintain the rabies virus either at low levels (endemic

rabies) or spread the virus quickly during rabies outbreaks (epizootics).

Humans can receive pre- or post-exposure prophylaxis vaccines, while dogs and cats

typically receive rabies vaccines annually or every 3 years. Rabies vaccination of

livestock occurs in areas with a high incidence of wildlife rabies or during rabies

outbreaks.

Since 1995, APHIS' Wildlife Services (WS) program has been working cooperatively

with local, State, and Federal governments, universities, and other partners to

reduce rabies in wildlife. ORV baits are distributed to wildlife in targeted areas. This

edible bait consists of a sachet, or plastic packet, containing the RABORAL V-RG®

rabies vaccine. To make the bait attractive to wildlife, the sachets containing the

vaccine are sprinkled with fishmeal coating or encased inside hard fishmeal-polymer

blocks about the size of a matchbox. Each year, WS and cooperators distribute about

6.5 million baits in selected States to create a zone where raccoon rabies can be

contained. This program is critical to national rabies prevention as raccoon

populations are present in all 48 States. While raccoon vaccination is the largest of

WS' efforts, the program has also been involved in a cooperative ORV operation in

Texas that targets canine rabies in coyotes and a unique variant of the disease in

gray foxes.

Recent ORV Successes
An economic evaluation of rabies prevention data indicates that for every dollar

spent on a coyote ORV program in Texas, between $4 and $13 are saved.

The domestic dog-coyote variant of rabies was successfully eliminated from the

United States in 2008 as a result of an ORV baiting program in Texas, proving

that ORV of wildlife can successfully eliminate terrestrial rabies.

A gray fox ORV program in the southwest United States stopped the expansion

of a rabies outbreak and reduced the original treatment zone by 50 percent.

A raccoon ORV program in the eastern United States has created a barrier

against the westward spread of raccoon rabies into naïve raccoon populations

beyond the Appalachian Mountains and across the western United States.

Economic Benefits of ORV Programs

Although the United States rabies prevention network is effective, approximately

55,000 people are administered post-exposure prophylactics (PEP) annually resulting

in over $200 million in health care costs. Recent economic analyses by WS indicate

that preventing the spread of raccoon rabies in the western United States alone

could reduce PEP costs by as much as $50 million annually. This is in addition to

savings associated with reduced pet vaccinations, quarantine and euthanasia;

surveillance and animal diagnostic tests; and livestock losses.

Today, State and Federal wildlife ORV programs are faced with declining resources.

Ironically, as these resources shrink, societal and environmental changes are leading

to increased opportunities for people and pets to be exposed to wildlife, particularly

in urban environments. Progress has been made towards eliminating rabies in

terrestrial wildlife, but continued coordinated efforts are still needed. The crucial

component to rabies elimination within the United States lies in vaccinating the

potential wildlife reservoirs of the disease.