Bonnie Harbin, program supervisor for the Community Hygiene Program in Harford County’s Bureau of Environmental Health, and Hannah Lux, a community hygiene supervisor, presented a proposed rural oral rabies vaccination (ORV) program to the county council and described the program’s purpose, track record in neighboring counties and estimated costs.

Harbin and Lux told the council that the raccoon variant is the dominant terrestrial rabies variant in the region and that the county has seen increases in positive terrestrial rabies tests over the past decade, with 23 positive terrestrial animals reported since the start of the year and 24 positives including one bat. They said public interest and reporting have increased along with positive test counts.

The supervisors described an ORV approach that distributes edible vaccine baits that contain an inactivated vaccine packet inside a wax- and fish-meal–coated bait. Harbin said the bait “cannot cause rabies” and noted the vaccine formulation has been approved for governmental use by the U.S. Department of Agriculture since 1997 and that more than 200 million doses have been distributed nationally. The baiting plan the department proposed would prioritize county- and state-owned parks and properties and areas within a half-mile radius of recent positives, with extra focus on the Route 1 corridor around Forest Hill and Bel Air.

The staff estimated they would distribute approximately 12,600 baits for the pilot. Price estimates the presenters provided: roughly $20,000 for baits, about $8,000 in one-time equipment and signage (refrigeration, signage and supplies), and $15,000–$20,000 for professional consultation and post-baiting monitoring (for example, contracting USDA Wildlife Services to trap and test raccoons weeks after baiting). Putting those figures together, they estimated total first-year costs of roughly $43,000–$48,000.

Staff described the distribution as a one-time fall deployment designed to reach juvenile raccoons dispersing from natal dens; distribution work would be done by roughly a four-person division over two to three weeks and could be combined with routine field duties. They said most baits are eaten within four days and generally gone within a week; residual material degrades in weather and the vaccine packet becomes deactivated after exposure.

Council members and residents raised safety and operational questions. Staff said the bait’s main risk to household pets is gastrointestinal upset, not systemic vaccine illness, and that people who contact a bait can call a number printed on the bait for reporting and follow-up. They confirmed that Anne Arundel County runs a long-standing ORV program and that Frederick County has higher rabies positives this year; Cecil County has single-digit positives. When asked about grant funding, staff said there were possible interactions with USDA but no guaranteed external funding. On program cadence, staff said annual baiting would be the goal because interruptions in annual campaigns in other counties corresponded with rebounds in positives.

The department asked the council for feedback and said it will continue planning and outreach with USDA and county partners.