It will be raining rabies vaccines over Aroostook County next week.
The oral vaccines will be dropped from the air between Aug. 13 and 22 according to Lindsay Hammes, a spokesperson for the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
That comes after an extra spring rabies vaccine drop in May.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services, which is partnering with the Maine CDC, is trying to create a “barrier” along the Appalachian Mountains from Alabama to Canada to prevent the spread of rabies.
The vaccines are coated in fishmeal.
Humans and pets can’t get rabies from the vaccines, but Hammes advised people to not touch or move them.
Anyone who does come in contact with them should rinse the affected area with warm water and soap. Dogs that ingest multiple bait packs may get an upset stomach, but won’t face long-term health effects, according to Hammes.
Rabies can infect the nervous systems of humans and other animals, and it spreads mainly through the bites of infected animals.
It is almost fatal once symptoms develop.
As of Friday morning, there have been 21 confirmed rabies cases among bats, foxes, raccoons and skunks across 12 counties.
