It’s going to rain rabies vaccines over the Maine woods

The forecast calls for showers of rabies vaccines over the Maine woods.

About 50,400 oral rabies vaccines will be spread over Franklin and Somerset counties between Aug. 6-11, according to Jackie Farwell, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

Another 384,000 rabies vaccines will be dropped across Aroostook and Penobscot counties between Aug. 11-16, Farwell said Friday.

Those vaccines dropped over northwestern Maine consist of blister packs, while those being dropped over northeastern Maine consist of either fishmeal-coated cubes or sachets.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services, which is partnering with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, will drop the rabies vaccines from aircraft as well as distribute them from vehicles on the ground.

Humans and pets can’t get rabies from the vaccines, but Farwell advised people to not touch or move them.

Anyone who does come in contact with them should rinse the affected area with warm water and soap. Dogs that ingest multiple bait packs may get an upset stomach, but won’t face long-term health effects, according to Farwell.

Rabies can infect the nervous systems of humans and other animals, and it spreads mainly through the bites of infected animals.

It is almost fatal once symptoms develop.

The vast majority of rabies cases are reported in wildlife, and as of July 25, there have been 30 confirmed cases across nine Maine counties in bats, foxes , raccoons, skunks and woodchucks.