The effect of high density oral rabies vaccine baiting on rabies virus neutralizing antibody response in raccoons (Procyon lotor)

Authors

Kerri Pedersen, APHISFollow
Amy Gilbert, USDA APHIS Wildlife ServicesFollow
Eric S. Wilhelm, USDA APHIS Wildlife ServicesFollow
Kathleen M. Nelson, USDA APHIS, Concord, NHFollow
Amy J. Davis, USDA National Wildlife Research CenterFollow
Jordona D. Kirby, USDA APHIS, Concord, NH
Kurt C. Vercauteren, APHISFollow
Shylo Johnson, USDA APHIS Wildlife ServicesFollow
Richard B. Chipman, USDA APHIS, Concord, NHFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2019

Citation

Pedersen, K., A.T. Gilbert, E.S. Wilhelm, K.M. Nelson, A.J. Davis, J.D. Kirby, K.C. VerCauteren, S.R. Johnson, and R.B. Chipman. 2019. The effect of high density oral rabies vaccine baiting on rabies virus neutralizing antibody response in raccoons (Procyon lotor). Journal of Wildlife Diseases 55(2):399-409.

doi: 10.7589/2018-05-138

Comments

US govt work

Abstract

From 2014 to 2016, we examined the effect of distributing oral rabies vaccine baits at high density (150 baits/km2) in an area of Virginia, US that was na¨ıve to oral rabies vaccination prior to the study. We also compared the effect of baiting at high density in a na¨ıve area to baiting at standard density (75 baits/km2) in an area that had been baited annually for 12 yr. Our results suggested that rabies virus seroconversion in raccoons (Procyon lotor) gradually increased each year under the high density bait treatment. However, we did not detect a difference in seroconversion between bait density treatments. Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) were abundant in the study area and were a potentially important nontarget species that competed for oral rabies vaccine baits, but the ratio of opossums to raccoons in this study did not affect rabies virus neutralizing antibody response of the raccoon populations.