Wildlife Rabies Vaccines To Be Distributed Across West Virginia

For the next month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be airdropping more than 300,000 oral rabies vaccines in 16 counties of West Virginia to inoculate wildlife against the virus. Those counties are: Barber, Brook, Greenbrier, Hancock, Marion, Marshall, Mercer, Monongalia, Monroe, Ohio, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Summers, Taylor, and Upshur. 

Baits will be dropped by helicopter along the Ohio River and Northern Panhandle from Aug. 13-18 and more baits will be dropped from airplanes in other rural areas of West Virginia from Aug. 25 to Sept. 4. In a press release, Chelsea Hartley, rabies technician with USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said those dates are approximate and dependent on weather and other variables. 

Rabies is found only in mammals. It attacks the brain and nervous system, ultimately causing death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

MaryWade Burnside, public information officer at Monongalia County Health Department, said the program has been effective in her county.  

“We went from 20 cases of rabies total in 2019 to only one or two a year since then,” she said. “This year, 2026, we’ve had no cases of rabies that has been reported to us.”  

Early symptoms of rabies in people are similar to other illnesses, such as fever, headache and general weakness and discomfort. As the disease progresses, more specific symptoms include insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, hypersalivation (an increase in saliva), difficulty swallowing and fear of water.  

Death usually occurs within days of the onset of these symptoms. Individuals who interact with a potentially rabid animal, or with a pet that has interacted with one, should visit a hospital emergency department to determine if treatment is necessary. 

Burnside said those 2019 cases spurred  health officials to reach out to APHIS to renew vaccine baiting in Monongalia County. 

“Their goal is to keep rabies from spreading west, but we saw that we were having a big issue in 2019, and so the decision was made to move the airdrop back east to cover Monongalia County,” Burnside said. “They also gave us (oral rabies vaccine) baits that we could use to hand distribute in grassy areas of Morgantown, like parks, the rail trail, around the WVU Coliseum, places like that.” 

Seven years later the olive green, rectangular baits are still hand distributed by Burnside’s coworkers. No other West Virginia health departments hand distribute baits around their areas, with other ground baiting operations being conducted by APHIS staff. 

“We know from the reaction we get on social media when we post about a rabies case we know this is an issue people really care about and get concerned about,” she said. “Since we started doing the ORV baiting, we get calls or messages asking us to please come put ORV baits in their area, which we cannot do. We get the baits at a specific time of year from the USDA, and they provide a grid of where they are to be distributed.” 

Bait distribution takes place this time of year to wait for wildlife born in the spring to be old enough to eat the vaccine. 

Burnside said if members of the public encounter baits in their community, to leave them alone and keep an eye on any pets around the baits. If a bait is found on a trail or byway, she said they can be moved to a grassy area while wearing a glove or using another barrier like a tissue and then washing hands thoroughly after. 

“They will not hurt animals. If you’re walking a dog on the rail trail and your dog eats one, it will not hurt the dog,” Burnside said. “We do advise people from keeping an eye out on their pets because if they gobble up too many, they might end up throwing up and that obviously concerns the dog owner, which is one of the reasons why we want to get the word out so when people see these out and about, they’ll know what they are.” 

According to state code, pets including dogs, cats and ferrets, must be up to date on rabies vaccines.