Rabies Vaccine for Wildlife: Fighting Disease from the Air

Rabies vaccine has made the disease uncommon among U.S. pets, but wild animals with rabies still pose a threat. The U.S. government wants to reduce the risk of wild animals transmitting the rabies virus to people, pets or livestock. Each year, it flies over rural areas of more than a dozen U.S. states, dropping several million packets of a wildlife rabies vaccine that Boehringer Ingelheim makes in Athens, Ga. “What most people probably don’t realize is that the potential threat of rabies could exist in their backyard, and that is through wildlife,” says Jordona Kirby, rabies field coordinator with the USDA. Fly along with a crew to see how – and why – they fight rabies from the air.