Vaccine bait to be dropped to try to curb rabies in Maine

Authorities in Maine are distributing oral rabies vaccines in bait form in the northeastern part of the state early this month. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services said the vaccines will be distributed starting around Aug. 3 and the effort will last for several days. The baits will be distributed by the air and ground and target raccoons over a 2,650-square-mile area.

The baits are coated with fishmeal. It’s impossible for humans or pets to get rabies from contact with the baits, but state authorities are asking people to leave them alone anyway. Forty animals have tested positive for rabies in 14 of Maine’s 16 counties this year.