Oral Rabies Vaccination: Unresolved Issues and Data Gaps

Oral rabies vaccination (ORV) represents a potential wildlife management tool that may be applied to contain and perhaps eliminate specific rabies virus variants that persist in several terrestrial carnivore species in the U.S. Increasingly greater use of ORV in the U.S. since 1997 has sparked discussion within the wildlife profession regarding need, cost and effectiveness, as well as the potential for wildlife management and ecological impacts. We identify and present ORV-related issues and data gaps of concern to wildlife managers that should be addressed through research, rabies surveillance and population monitoring