Vaccination of wild animals is underway in Sevastopol

More than 16,000 doses of a special oral vaccine will be distributed in areas where foxes and other predators live, in forest areas bordering populated areas. Today, specialists worked in the forest areas bordering the village of Flotskoye. Such events are held twice a year. Every year, experts distribute more than 32,000 doses of the vaccine.

The vaccine is an edible briquette with a meat or fish odor attractive to predators. Inside the bait there is a sealed capsule with a live attenuated vaccine. When an animal eats the bait and chews the capsule, the vaccine enters the oral cavity, where the immune response is activated. After just 21 days, the animal develops a strong immunity to the rabies virus.— the press service quotes the head of the department of anti-epizootic work and treatment and preventive measures of the veterinary department, Mikhail Luchnikov.

To monitor the effectiveness of the measures, a safe biomarker is added to the bait — a substance that stains the teeth and saliva of the animal. This allows experts to further assess how widely the vaccine has been accepted by wild carnivores and adjust the strategy if necessary.

According to Mikhail Luchnikov, such mass vaccination of wild carnivores creates an “immune buffer zone” — an area in which the circulation of the rabies virus is practically excluded. This not only protects the wild animals themselves, but also significantly reduces the risk of infection for domestic and farm animals, as well as people.

Let us remember that rabies is one of the most dangerous viral diseases that affects both animals and humans. It is incurable and has a 100% mortality rate in the absence of timely prevention. In nature, the main carriers and reservoirs of the rabies virus are wild carnivores: foxes, wolves, raccoon dogs and other predators. These animals can come into contact with pets, farm animals, and even people, especially in suburban and rural areas.

According to the law, vaccination of pets against rabies is mandatory. For its absence, administrative liability is provided.

In Sevastopol, residents can vaccinate their pets for free at the state veterinary clinic weekly on Fridays on the street. Mogilevskaya, 16.

In addition, for convenience, the State Veterinary Service organizes on-site vaccination points.

Current information about the dates, times and places of their work is published on the official portal of the Government of Sevastopol, on social networks in the group “Veterinary Service of the City of Sevastopol”, on the air of the TV channel “Sevastopol Television” and on the radio “Sevastopol FM” (frequency 102.0 MHz).

source: press service of the Government of Sevastopol