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wp" 14 -- Scugog Citizen -- Tuesday, Ni b =z 9, 1993 Taking to the air in the fight against rabies by Heather McCrae One day last month, Dr. John Churchill, a veterinarian with the Agriculture Canada branch in Bowmanville and myself traded a day of our daily work The crew that went on the Anti-Rables Balt drop over Durham from left are Bev Stev , Bernice Einbod: Laurie Calder, Pliot Ted Bekkers, Heather McCrae and or. John Churchill. See story. 183 Queen Street PORT PERRY we 985-3821 Settlement House ss hops, routines and volunteered our services with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources' (OMNR) aerial distribution of rabies vaccine over Durham skunks, bats and raccoons are the main carriers of this fatal virus, usually infecting pets or livestock that may endanger people. Foxes seem to be a main carrier of this disease and it's for that reason the OMNR initiated a rabies bait program. The first bait drop was held in 1989 and the results were encouraging, showing that 40-50% of foxes did indeed eat the bait and become vaccinated From Port Perry it's a 1 1/2 hours drive to Oro-Orillia-Barrie airport, the field base from where all flights originated After John picked me up in the early morning from my home we arrived at the OMNR trailer located at the airport shortly after 7:30 a.m Judi Smith and Jen Holder of the Canine Control, Town p of Brock, rolled into the parking lot at the same time, rather keen to lend their time and assistance too The day before (Tuesday), Dr 5 wonderful shops and a café gifts and furniture for the country home a Christmas Tradition i = ee 15th ANNIVERSARY CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE Huge Days of Christmas Celebrations er Savings NOVEMBER 12 - 14 th TC Ku 10% OFF in ALL OUR sHOPS pLus MANY IN-STORE SPECIALS OPEN BE 7 DAYS A WEEK! Dorothy Geale, a colleague of Dr. Churchill's and Ann Barrett, Scugog's Animal Control Officer, assisted in the drop bait program flying over most of Scugog Township, including parts of Port Perry. After introducing ourselves to Dr. Charles Maclnnes, Co- Ordinator of the Rabies Research Unit and other ministry personnel we were asked to sign our lives away by signing a standard waiver form releasing the OMNR of any responsibility in case of sickness, injury, loss of whatever during our 'mission' After the wings were de-iced and the plane loaded with containers the size of large garbage bins, fill€d with the baits, we were given the word to "hop aboard" the twin engine yellow OMNR otter aircraft Also volunteering her services with us was Bernice Einboden of Barrie. Judi and Jen had to wait to go up on the second flight Next, we were outfitted with disposable gloves and coveralls, and introduced to the pilot, Ted Bekkers, his navigator, Laurie Calder and Bev Stevenson 'whose job was to monitor the baiting machine. Within minutes of being in the air we (John, Bernice and I) were put to work in somewhat cramped quarters. Our job was to load trays of the baits on to a conveyor belt which fed them through a hatch in the floor of the aircraft to the ground below. The work was simple enough but we had to do our work qujckly and efficiently and really had very little time to look at the countryside The baits resemble a piece of fudge with a sickly sweet odour to them and contain chicken-cod flavour, tetracycline and other anti-biotics. Embedded inside the centre of the bait cube is a liquid rabies vaccine in a plastic aluminum sealed package It was a smooth flight the entire trip and not one of us was sick or even a bit queasy. But Bev, who is on a three-week contract with the Ministry, said it isn't always that way recently, while on a baiting flight, she had walked up to the cockpit to talk to the pilot and at that precise moment the plane hit an airpocket, knocking her off balance that she hit her head so hard she suffered a concussion. So there are some drawbacks to the job All three of us were invited to look out the back side window and watch as the baits flew to the ground. We flew at an altitude of 600 feet dropping the baits on farmland and bushland, but not over water or built-up areas In the 2 1/2 the air we baited the area from the tops of Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching, south through Dalrymple, hitting Scugog Township, east of Highway 12, the wast half of Cartwright down to Lake Ontario, including the town of Clarington, dropping 22,825 baits The life span for the rabies vaccine in the bait is four months and the predent climate is ideal for a bait drop says Dr Maclnnes. The baits are frozen before they're loaded onto the plane so freezing doesn't have a negative effect on the foxes It takes about three weeks after consuming the bait before a fox is protected. If it comes in contact with a rabid animal within this time period then it probably won't be immunized The OMNR has asked if people find the baits not to touch them and parents are advised to seek medical attention if children eat the bait. Even though the baits have been tested and found safe for dogs, cats and livestock they will not vaccinate these species Dr. Maclnnes said that in the past five years over two million baits have been aerial dropped and there's been maybe half a dozen people exposed to the vaccine But pet owners are encouraged to ensure that their pets and livestock are vaccinated Just hours we were In 80, would I volunteer my services again? "Sure, | consider myself an experienced baiter now, and if | have helped in a program that will eradicate rabies in these wild animals then I'm glad to have had the opportunity to work with the ministry but give me a year before | do it again" a FEEL PRPRIPR