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Rabies baits dropped this week

This photo from the Ohio Department of Health shows what the baits look like.

LISBON — Due to two raccoons testing positive for rabies in February and April in Stark County, residents in western Columbiana County are within the area where vaccine baits are being dropped this week.

The Ohio Department of Health is announcing that in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Animal Plant Health and Inspection Service and Wildlife Services, baits are being dropped within a 539-square mile region in three counties, Columbiana, Stark and Carroll.

The baits are being dropped in rural areas by fixed wing aircraft and in urban and suburban areas by helicopter. The bait is about the size of a candy bar, has an outside green shell with an odor which attracts raccoons and an inside blister pack which provides an oral vaccine to the raccoon which consumes it.

If a pet, especially dogs, should accidentally ingest the bait, it should not be harmful provided the pet does not eat many. Eating several may cause the dog vomiting or diarrhea and the pet should be confined. Avoid the saliva of a pet which has consumed a bait for 24 hours. If a bait needs to be moved, wear gloves or use a paper towel, toss it into a wooded area, a ditch, a fence row or another area frequented by raccoons. Wash your hands with soap and water.

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