Far West Texas will now be included in Texas Department of State Health Services’ (DSHS) Oral Rabies Vaccination Program (ORVP) bait drop.

The annual program began Jan. 7 and now includes bait distribution in parts of El Paso County and other counties bordering New Mexico.

A new Arizona fox rabies virus variant has been confirmed in Sierra County, New Mexico. The program aims to help keep Texas free of the rabies variants.

“Texas has eliminated two canid rabies variants by the utilization of the Oral Rabies Vaccination Program,” said Kathy Parker, DSHS ORVP director. “By moving the program to now include Far West Texas, DSHS is striving to protect the people and animals in that area.”

The 2025 ORVP will distribute more than 1 million baits across 24 Texas border counties.

The first drop began in Van Horn in Culberson County.

Additional drops are scheduled to depart from Del Rio on Jan. 14 and Edinburg on Jan. 20.

More than 1 million baits will be distributed, covering the state’s border maintenance zones.

Aircraft fly at altitudes of 500 to 1,000 feet, releasing baits along half-mile interval lines in six to nine daily flights.

The vaccines are packaged in small, plastic packets that resemble fast-food ketchup packets and are dipped in fish oil and coated fish-meal crumbles to attract wildlife.

The packets do not pose a threat to pets and non-canine wildlife.

This is the 31st year DSHS has facilitated the bait drop program. ORVP has proven to be an effective defense against the spread of the domestic dog/coyote rabies variant and the Texas gray fox variant.

The program, which costs around $2.3 million annually, is funded by the State of Texas and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Wildlife Services.

The ORVP has been instrumental in eliminating rabies variants, DSHS said. No human cases of rabies attributable to these rabies variants have been identified since ORVP began in 1995.