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State veterinarian outlines January 2026 oral rabies vaccination plan for El Paso County
Summary
Texas Department of State Health Services officials told the El Paso County Commissioners Court the agency will expand its oral rabies vaccination program in January 2026 with both aerial baiting over nonpopulated areas and an estimated 4,500 hand-bait placements in urban fox and coyote habitat to prevent an encroaching Arizona fox variant from establishing locally.
Dr. Susan Schaff, regional state veterinarian with the Texas Department of State Health Services, told the El Paso County Commissioners Court on Nov. 20, 2025, that the department plans to expand an oral rabies vaccination program in El Paso County beginning in January 2026.
The program will use both aerial bait drops over nonpopulated terrain and targeted hand-baiting in urban fox and coyote habitat, with staff estimating about 4,500 hand-bait placements. "We haven't seen a terrestrial rabies case in El Paso in over 30 years," Schaff said, explaining the effort aims to prevent establishment of the Arizona fox variant that wildlife surveillance has detected in…
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