MCHD sanitarians will distribute oral rabies vaccines in late August

Aug. 20, 2025

Monongalia County Health Department sanitarians will distribute oral rabies vaccine baits in grassy and wooded areas around Morgantown from Wednesday, Aug. 27 through Friday, Aug. 29.

Jennifer Costolo-Michael noted that this year, the United States Department of Agriculture has provided MCHD sanitarians with a new type of baits that have a marshmallow scent, rather than previous baits that smelled like fish.

"It's supposed to be attractive to wildlife," she said. "They smell better than the fish baits that we are used to."

The baits do not vary in appearance from the older ones, in order to blend in with the natural areas where they will be distributed.

ORV baits inoculate wildlife, including raccoons, against rabies and have helped lower the numbers of positive cases from 20 in 2019 to just a couple a year.

They are not harmful to pets but if a dog gobbles up several, it might make the pet throw up. Individuals who see the baits on a trail are encouraged, if possible, to use a gloved hand to move them into a woodsier area.

Anyone who touches them should wash their hands with soap and warm water ASAP.

The USDA will follow up this hand distribution with the ORV bait drops from fixed-wing aircrafts in more rural areas in mid-September.

More information will follow on Monongalia County Health Department's social media.