The rabies vaccine drop will soon begin in the Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
Health officials from county health department will begin distributing the bait that contains rabies vaccine to target raccoons in the wild.
The bait will be distributed all throughout the county on Sept. 1, reports stated.
The raccoon bait will come in two types. One will be made from polymers and fishmeal and it will resemble a brown brick; inside it will be the liquid vaccine, Raboral V-RG, in a tiny plastic bag, as stated in the county's Department of Health website.
The other vaccine takes the form of a ketchup packet coated with fishmeal to attract the animals, which should bite into the distributed packets in order to get exposed to the vaccine.
Health officials gave their assurance that the vaccine will not harm any animals, including pets.
The vaccine only poses a "low health risk" to humans. However, officials warn that those under the age of 18, pregnant, or people with low immune system should not come in contact with the bait.
Anne Arundel County is not the only area practicing the rabies vaccine drop. The Erie County has also started working together with wildlife officials to also fight against rabies.
Over the next few days, pellets containing the vaccine will be dropped into forested areas throughout Western New York, as reported in WIVB News 4.
Officials also warn that if pets come in contact with the rabies vaccine, owners should notify their veterinarians, although generally the vaccine isn't harmful.
For Erie County, about 26,000 pellets will be deployed.
Anne Arundel County Department of Health has reported 21 cases of rabies from ground dwelling animals last year, and this number has increased since 2011. Meanwhile Erie County Health Department has reported 16 rabies cases for this year.
According to Pete Tripi, the county's senior public health sanitarian, the easy fix would be to make sure owners vaccinate their pets and keep them away from wild animals.
Rabies is a form of viral disease commonly affecting mammals, including humans; and in most cases the disease can be fatal, causing damaging brain-related symptoms.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, most of the cases reported came from bites of raccoons, bats, foxes, and skunks.
