Health
Massachusetts Officials Use Aerial Vaccine Drops to Curb Rising Rabies Cases
A wildlife task force in Massachusetts is deploying helicopters to drop edible rabies vaccine packets across Cape Cod and the South Shore, aiming to control a rise in rabies infections among wild animals. The effort comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health advisory following a nationwide increase in rabies cases.
Zak Mertz of the New England Wildlife Centers, who is part of the task force, said this year has been especially active for rabies-related incidents. "We have also seen a mild uptick particularly on the South Shore in positive cases as compared to other years," Mertz said, attributing the rise to growing populations of animals that commonly carry the virus.
Wildlife experts note that animals infected with rabies often lose their natural fear of humans and can become aggressive, behaving in uncharacteristic ways.
Over the past several days, the task force has used helicopters to distribute the vaccine packets in a systematic pattern. "The idea is to sort of work methodically starting with the Cape and push outward to work to eliminate the virus systematically," Mertz explained.
The initiative follows a string of troubling incidents. Last month, WBZ-TV reported that a rabid fox attacked a 6-year-old girl in Worcester. Months earlier, in the same city, a woman used her purse to fend off a fox that attacked her on her front steps. Additionally, three people in Lebanon, New Hampshire, were recently attacked by an unidentified cat, which officials are now testing for rabies.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is urging residents to vaccinate their pets, keep them leashed, and seek veterinary care immediately if a pet is exposed to a potentially rabid animal. Health officials also note that post-exposure treatment is available for humans but must be administered quickly after exposure.
Mertz emphasized that while the situation isn't cause for panic, it serves as an important reminder that rabies remains present in the environment. Officials noted that the vaccine packets are safe for humans and pets, but they are asking the public to keep dogs away from any packets they encounter so the bait remains available for the wild animals it's intended to protect.