MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Monongalia County Health Department has issued an advisory for impending rabies vaccine baits that are scheduled to be dropped over the county.
Residents were issued an advisory on Thursday that states that the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will begin to drop the oral rabies vaccines from airplanes and helicopters between Saturday, August 24, and Sunday, August 25. MCHD Environmental Health Program Manager Todd Powroznik advises residents to be on the lookout for the baits that will be distributed as part of a joint effort with the USDA.
“The USDA will be starting on Sunday, we will coincide with that, and we will be doing the drops for Morgantown, Star City, Westover, Granville, and all of the other grids on the GPS sheets,” said Powroznik.
The oral rabies vaccines will be delivered in three different packets, two will be separate colored blister packs, one will be green and the other will be white. The others will be encased in a brown coating, with some containing fishmeal to attract wildlife. Powroznik added that the MCHD will take around 1,400 baits to distribute by hand in grassy areas such as parks and beside the rail-trail on Tuesday, Aug. 27 and Wednesday, Aug. 28. The USDA will do drops in various zones around Monongalia County.
“They’re more square in shape, and we’ll be doing those from the ground,” said Powroznik about what the baits will look like when they’re delivered over the next week. “The ones that the USDA will be dropping are very similar to what you would see at a resteraunt, like a salt or pepper packet to-go,” he said.
If a resident comes across an oral rabies vaccine while out with their pet, the Monongalia County Health Department strongly advises preventing their pet from eating the vaccine and tossing the vaccines in a wooded or grassy area. If the vaccine is accidentally eaten, Powroznik advises residents that their pets won’t be permanently injured, but it could affect their digestion for a couple of days. If a vaccine bait is found by a resident that hasn’t been consumed, they are also advised to use protective gloves before they are disposed of at a different location.
“Just a pair of latex gloves or some types of all-purpose gloves you use for gardening or something like that, you can pick it up,” Powroznik advises residents. “If you live near a wooded section, you know, those are obviously the targets, you can throw them on the other side of the fence,” he said.
According to Powroznik, cases of the deadly rabies virus in Monongalia County have been minimal in 2024, with the exception being the case of a rabid cat reported by a landowner that bordered Preston County in the spring. The lack of cases reflects a change in approach to the delivery of rabies vaccines from both the USDA and the MCHD, who have worked with interactive technology to develop distribution grids to prevent vaccines from not being delivered in a certain location or being overserved. With the significant decline from the 20 cases reported in 2019, Powroznik feels these efforts have shown that the rabies vaccine distributions, either on ground or by air, have positively affected the health of county residents.
“We have a great team and a great relationship with the USDA,” said Powroznik. “Our team here at (MCHD) Environmental Health, we take pride in doing it, and it’s something we look forward to each and every year, and this is the time of the year for it,” he said.
The baits are intended to be consumed by raccoons and other wildlife.