"Omaha Takes Action: Preventing Wildlife Rabies with Oral Vaccine Distribution"

Wildlife and health officials in Omaha are distributing 18,000 sachets of oral rabies vaccine to raccoons in an effort to create herd immunity and prevent the spread of a raccoon variant of rabies. The vaccine packets, coated with a pungent fishmeal, are designed to attract raccoons. The distribution area covers a 62-square-mile radius centered on where a stray kitten was found with the raccoon variant of rabies. The ongoing initiative also involves trapping, vaccinating, and releasing raccoons. The goal is to vaccinate about 1,000 animals. The raccoon rabies variant has not been detected in the 130 deceased animals tested so far.