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Press Release

USDA FUNDING APPROVED FOR WILDLIFE RABIES CONTROL PROGRAM

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2004-The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that $5.4 million has been transferred from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to be used to control rabies in wildlife.

The oral rabies vaccination (ORV) program protects agriculture and human health from the threat of rabies. This additional funding will be used to: contain a breach in the Cape Cod barrier and in the Ohio barrier, address "hot spots" within existing barriers, complete the containment phase of the rabies management program, continue efforts to eliminate raccoon rabies in Pennsylvania and supplement state funding in Texas for rabies control work there.

Wildlife rabies poses significant risks to humans, their livestock and pets, as well as to wildlife. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated the annual cost associated with wildlife rabies to exceed $300 million. In fiscal year 1998, APHIS established a wildlife rabies management team to plan and coordinate rabies control activities with cooperating states and others.

For additional information concerning the rabies management program, please contact USDA's wildlife services toll-free at 1-866-4 USDA-WS (1-866-487-3297).

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