SPI fights rabies in coyotes

South Padre Island workers scattered oral rabies vaccine in brushy areas to ward off any possible outbreak of the dreaded disease rabies among the Island’s coyote population, city officials said.

City employees assisted the Texas Department of State Health Services Zoonosis Control Division to distribute the bait, which is aimed at the dog strain of rabies carried by coyotes in Texas, said J. Victor Baldovinos, city of South Padre Island environmental health director.

Rabies can be spread by coyotes to gray foxes, pet dogs and other canines, he said.

The small, hard polymer baits are made of fish meal mixed with a non-toxic bonding agent and tetracycline added as a biomarker, a city document states.

The bait is not dangerous to humans or pets who may consume them, Baldovinos said. It is unlikely a child would eat one because of the unpleasant smell and taste of the fish meal, he said.

“This is done exclusively as a preventive measure,” he said. “It’s by no means a reactive measure. Back in 1995, South Texas had 141 reported cases of the dog strain of rabies. We’ve been doing this for five years. In 2010, we’ve had zero reported cases in South Texas.”

“We ask the public not to disturb the baits. They are an extremely safe method of rabies control,” he said.

The baits can only prevent a coyote or other canine from contracting the dog strain of rabies and cannot cure an animal that already has rabies, he said. The baits also will not affect the type of rabies carried by bats, he said.

But eating the rabies baits is not recommended, he said.

“The people we worry about are the people with low immunity; the susceptible population is children and pregnant women,” Baldovinos said. “We ask them to contact the (telephone) number that’s on the bait, which is to the Texas Department of State Health Services and they’ll explain what needs to be done.”

Coyotes, deer and other wildlife have often been reported on South Padre Island.

In 2002, an Edinburg family was shocked to discover that a pack of coyotes snatched away their toy poodle, which was tethered outside their travel trailer at Isla Blanca Park late at night, and killed it.

A Texas Wildlife Damage Management Service trapper captured and killed nine coyotes in the RV park in the days following the death of the toy poodle.

If a pet dog eats one of the coyote baits, health officials advise that the dog’s mouth be washed out and the dog not be allowed to come in contact with humans for 48 hours, Baldovinos said.