HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1990-09-05, Page 5County foxes targets
of rabies
vaccine
BY MONA IRWIN
Adam soup has often been
torlld u s cure for many (fungi.
New it will be used in the fight
WIN rabies in the local fox
population.
About 180,000 hole chicken
soup -flavored cubes will rain down
on most of Huron and Perth
Counties between Sept. 24-30 as the
Ministry of Natural Resources
(MNR) rests a rabies vaccine bait.
The vaccine drop was announced
recently in an MNR release.
The cubes will be • • . ' . , from
two low-flyinig MNR win Otter
aircraft that will take off from Sky
Harbour Airport.
The cubes are made up of beef
talbw (a by-product of tanning) and
wax, and flavored with chicken
soup essence. Each cube contains a
small plastic package of liquid
vaccine.
'They're pea-green and they
smell like chicken soup," said Ron
Spurr. Initial research indicates that
"foxes love them" because of the
chicken soup flavoring, he said.
Spurr is a resources planning and
land management supervisor with
the Wingham MNR office.
The MNR will drop the vaccine
cubes on a total of 31 test areas
across southern Ontario, from the
Bruce Peninsula to Lake Erie. The
cubes will not be dropped near
houses, towns, schools or
playgrounds, said the press release.
PRECAUTION
Although the cubes carry labels
reading 'Rabies Vaccine, Do Not
Eat,' the vaccine is not harmful to
humans or other animals, said the
press release. However, it added
that if a person accidentally eats
one he or she should contact the
family physician as soon as
possible.
"Better safe than sorry," said
Spurr. The vaccine will not cause
an adverse reaction (such as an
allergic reaction) in most people,
"but you wouldn't want to be the
one person that did react badly to
it," he said.
Rabies is a virus which affects the
nervous system and brain of
mammals. Among wild animals, it
is spread mainly by foxes and
skunks ("unfortunately, this method
of delivery is not popular with
skunks," said Spurr). Rabies gets
into the body through a bite or
other wound.
Anyone who believes they have
come in contact with a rabid animal
should receive medical treaunent
immediately.
FIRST IN ONTARIO
The 'aur -drop' method of wild
animal rabies control is an old story
far Huron County. said Spurr. Back
in the late 1970s, "this was the first
test arca in Ontario" to try this
method, he said. At that time
researchers toed hamburger balls
with the vaccine in a pill form in
the middle.
"But the foxes would eat the
hamburgers and spit out the pills,"
Spunsaid. —They're not stupid."
In the mid-1980s, researchers
replaced the hamburger with
polyurethane cubes containing a
liquid vaccine. They were
digcstable, but the foxes didn't
actually have to eat the whole cube.
Just biting into it would puncture
the internal container with the
vaccine in it.
CROWS TOOK BAIT
The polyurethane cubes proved
very popular - to the wrong
animals.
"Crows just went nuts over
them," said Spurr. "They were just
tearing them to pieces." However,
since birds are not susceptible to
rabies, the crows' fondness for the
cubes was not at all helpful.
The tallow and wax cubes were
developed in the late 1980s.
Besides the delivery cubes, the
vaccine itself has undergone
research and refinement, said Spurr.
"The intention is to develop an
effective vaccine as well as an
efficient method of delivering it,"
he said. The problem with many of
the early vaccines was that both
time and temperature changes
would weaken them, making them
all but useless if they were not
ingested within the first few days
after the drop.
TRAPPERS VERY HELPFUL
One of the reasons for returning
to the Huron -Perth area for the drop
is that there's a healthy fox
population in this area, said Spurr.
Another reason is the local
trappers.
"They're very cooperative," Spurr
said. Although trappers only require
the pelt, most will bring the
carcasses in as well so researchers
can check for the presence of the
vaccine.
The length of time the vaccine is
effective differs according to each
fox's metabolism, and also to how
many cubes each ate, said Spurr.
He added that foxes would not
Rabies is an
Rabies, which affects the
nervous system and brain of
mammals, is spread in the wild
mainly by foxes and skunks. The
rabies virus gets into the body
through a bite or other wound.
Rabid animals can usually be
easily spotted by their abnormal
behavior, says a representative of
the Ministry of Natural
Resources (MNR).
"They either become vicious
and aggressive or 'dozey' and
stupid," said Ron Spurr. He is a
resources planning and land
management supervisor with the
W Ingham office of the MNR.
People (especially children)
should be advised never to pet a
strange animal or handle a sick
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107 Main St. N.
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Seaforth S271794 lA udns: 02.1841
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suffer ill effects no matter how
much vaccine they ingested.
He added, however, that this is
not a reliable method for protecting
domestic animals against rabies,
partly because of the variety in
sizes among domestic animals. Pets
or stock animals should receive
their annual rabies shots from a
veterinarian.
unpredictable disease, says expert
or dead animal. They should
report sick or dead animals to
their parents, who should contact
local authorities immediately.
"Rabies is unpredictable,"
added Spurr. 'Hot -spots' of the
disease can flare up anywhere,
then die out and flare up
somewhere else.
"And if it gets into a large
herd of cattle or other domestic
animals, the cost to the farmer is
incredible," he added.
A press release from the MNR
said rabies costs Ontario $26
million each year. That covers
the costs of diagnosis, pet
vaccination, compensation to
farmers for loss of livestock,
quarantine costs, research, and
the treatment of humans who
have come in contact with rabid
animals.
Anyone who believes they
have come in contact with a
rabid animal should clean the
wound with soap and water and
get to a doctor or hospital
emergency ward immediately.
The series of extremely painful
stomach injections once
administered are no longer used,
said Spurr. Today people receive
five shots of vaccine in the arm
or shoulder.
The MNR press release said
between 2,000-2,500 Ontarians
receive anti -rabies vaccine each
year because of contact with a
rabid animal.
In humans, rabies symptoms
include irritation at the site of
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the bite, general excitability and
irritability, difficulty in
swallowing, and paralysis just
prior to death.
Once the symptoms appear,
which may be anywhere from
two weeks to a year after
contact, medical treatment is
ineffective, and the victim
almost always dies.
toil NuMON EXPOSiiOR. SEPTEMBER 5 0#90 - 5
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MAIN STREET, SEAFORTH
61i6A3T'
OR COUNTRY STYLE RIB$
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STORErAOE PLAIN OR GARLIC
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PORK CHOPS
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CENTRE
SEAFORTH
ELECT
KEN
CAMPBELL
FOR
MPP HURON
This is the last opportunity, before the election that I will have to bring
my message to you the electors of Huron County. While you have been
bombarded with facts, figures and endless promises, let's not forget the
issues.
I believe t.iat it is time for a common sense approach to government so
that we can deal effectively with such issues as increasing property
taxes, waste management, transfer payments to municipalities, education
funding, and agricultural policies.
I am seeking your support as your MPP in Huron because I believe in
Huron County and Ontario and I know that I can make a contribution at
Queen's Park.
CAMPBELL KENPflO(: RE93NE
If you need more information or help to get to the polls on election day please call...
KEN CAMPBELL CAMPAIGN OFFICE or KEN CAMPBELL COMMITTEE ROOMS
11 Albert Street, Clinton seeform 527-2836 Goderich 524-1169
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YOUR SUPPORT WOULD BE APPRECIATED ON SEPTEMBER 6
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