Rabies baiting begins in Huntington

County health workers load truck with vaccine bait this morning.

By Tim Healy
tim.healy@newsday.com

Suffolk County health officials began loading 16 vehicles this morning with fish-meal baits containing an oral rabies vaccine aimed at the raccoon population in western Suffolk.

A rabid raccoon was found recently in Lloyd Harbor, bringing the total to 17 since March 2006, all on the Nassau-Suffolk border in the northwest portion of Huntington, according to Salvatore Scarpitta, the forensic scientist leading today’s baiting effort.

The two-member team in each vehicle is expected to distribute between 1,000 and 2,000 doses of the vaccine each day, with the goal of getting 120,000 doses on the ground in the next eight days.

Plans to distribute another 80,000 baits by air in wooded areas have been delayed by damage done to the State Police helicopter that was to be used. Scarpitta said the air drop will take place in two to three weeks, once the aircraft is repaired. The county is also putting up large plastic pipes filled with the bait cubes and monitored with cameras. (Workers load one at left)

The vaccine cubes, which can last in the field for a week to 10 days, have so far been shown to be 30 percent effective, according to Scarpitta, who said he thought further analysis based on use in Suffolk could raise that number.

“We hope it’s doing the trick,” he said.

Today’s distribution includes areas in Greenlawn, Huntington Station and East Northport. Tomorrow includes South Huntington, Commack and a return to Huntington Station. About 100,000 doses of vaccine were distributed in the Huntington area in July, Scarpitta said.



In the next week, officials hope to cover a wide area from the Nassau-Suffolk border to Nichols Road, from Long Island Sound to the South Shore. Baiting is also taking place in Nassau.

“It makes no sense for us to do it and them not,” Scarpitta said.

Scarpitta said the vaccine is harmless to humans and other wildlife. However, the county does recommend a series of precautions, including that children be supervised outdoors during -- and for one week after -- the baiting period and that pets be kept indoors or on a leash. For a complete list, click here.

Rabies is fatal in unvaccinated animals and is a health threat to other wildlife as well as to pets and humans. The county health department said 55,000 humans die each year from rabies worldwide, the bulk of them in Asia and Africa, where canine rabies is common. To learn more about the baiting program, visit the health department Web site.