It will be raining rabies vaccines over Aroostook County starting this week.
Nearly 600,000 oral vaccines will be dropped from the air between Wednesday and Aug. 24, according to Lindsay Hammes, a spokesperson for the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
That comes after a supplemental rabies vaccine drop in the spring.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services, which is partnering with the Maine CDC, is dropping the vaccine doses to combat the spread of the virus.
The vaccines are coated in fishmeal.
Humans and pets can’t get rabies from the vaccines, but Hammes 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 Hammes.
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.
As of Monday, there have been 28 confirmed rabies cases among skunks, raccoons, foxes, bats and a goat across 12 counties.