USDA Addressing Wildlife Rabies Outbreak

The Department of Agriculture recently approved nearly $19 million in emergency funding to address current wildlife rabies outbreaks in multiple states. The funding allows USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to establish a sufficient stockpile of oral rabies vaccination baits and address emerging rabies cases in high-risk areas. APHIS Administrator Michael Watson says, “By reducing rabies in wildlife populations, we are safeguarding both human and animal health and decreasing the risk of disease spread.” The APHIS National Rabies Management Program controls and eliminates rabies virus in terrestrial carnivores such as raccoons, coyotes and foxes.  APHIS has been able to support emergency responses in recent years using appropriated funding, but growing costs and the need to provide an increasing number of rabies responses has depleted available resources. This emergency funding is being redirected from unspent balances from previous animal and plant health emergencies. The funding will address rabies outbreaks in Alabama, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.