Baiting against rabid raccoons in Valley Stream

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Vaccine packets scented with raccoon bait will be distributed beginning Sept. 19 by truck and placed in the animal’s natural habitats across Valley Stream and other south shore communities.

“Because of the threat to wildlife and domestic animals from rabies, action needs to be taken quickly to prevent rabies from becoming endemic in Nassau County,” said Mary Ellen Laurain, a spokeswoman for Nassau’s Department if Health.

All or parts of Atlantic Beach, Cedarhurst, Hewlett, Inwood, Lawrence, Woodmere and Long Beach would be included by the preventative measure. The rabies bait will be put in woods, bushes, streambeds, sewers and other areas common to raccoons. The bait’s scent attracts the raccoons and they are immunized against rabies when they eat the contents of the vaccine packet.

About a month ago, Ellen Wenz noticed a raccoon scurry across the street in southeast Valley Stream on Bismark Avenue.

“It was weird because it was like nine o’clock in the morning,” Wenz said. “As I’m driving up the street I saw this raccoon staggering and walking kind of strange … He was walking like he was a little drunk, and I’m thinking ‘It must’ve been a late night.’”

Wenz said she informed Nassau County about the sighting and that “nobody really acted like it was anything to be kinda crazy about.”

Raccoons are common throughout the county, but rabies is not. In March of this year, one raccoon tested positive for rabies and eight raccoon rabies cases were reported in the southern portion of Brooklyn between 2012 and last year, and rabies virus has been reported for the past several years in the city, Laurain, said.

“Rabies continues to be confirmed in New York City, which presents a threat of eastward advance into Nassau County,” she said.

Rabies is a viral infection that affects the nervous system of raccoons and other mammals, including humans. It is typically transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal and could be transmitted when the saliva of a rabid animal comes in contact with an open cut or scratched skin lesions. The disease is generally fatal once clinical signs of infection occur. Laurain said that the wildlife vaccination will decrease the chance of human and domestic animal contact with rabid animals.

People who see raccoons should not try to trap the animals themselves; a license trapper should be called, county officials said. To avoid possible contact with the packets, it is recommended to supervise children’s outside activities during the week of distribution and week afterwards, as well as keeping all dogs and cats inside or on leashes during both weeks. This will allow the raccoons to eat the vaccine-laden bait and get immunized, which reduces the possibility of pets eating the bait. The bait isn’t harmful to dogs or cats, but they could vomit after eating a large number of them. Don’t try to remove the packer from the animal’s mouth.

The county’s Office of Emergency Management was tasked with informing the communities involved. Officials from two Five Towns municipalities said they will do their part to inform their residents.

“We will coordinate with the county to get the word out,” said Cedarhurst Mayor Benjamin Weinstock. “We will spread the information  through our email blasts, website and social media. I will also notify synagogues and churches in the village so that they can inform their congregants.

“It is very commendable what the county is doing,” said Lawrence Mayor Alex Edelman. “We will do our best to advise our residents about what is being done.”