Nassau County using bait to stop spread of rabies virus in animals

Nassau County will be placing oral rabies bait in the woods, streambeds and storm drains later this month in an effort to cut down on the growing number of cases among raccoons and other animals.

Both Nassau and Suffolk counties have seen an increase in animals testing positive for rabies over the last year. Nassau documented 13 cases in 2025 and six in 2024. The majority have been raccoons but three feral cats have also tested positive for the virus.

Before last summer, Nassau had not had a positive rabies case in a raccoon since 2016.

On Monday, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services said a rabid raccoon discovered earlier this month in Amityville brought to four the number of the infected animals in the county so far in 2025, all in the Amityville area.

Rabies is a very rare but deadly disease that can be passed to humans by the bite or scratch of an infected animal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People who get treatment immediately have a good chance of avoiding serious illness. The agency said fewer than 10 people a year die from rabies annually in the United States.

The baits, which have a fishlike smell to attract raccoons, will be distributed between Monday and May 2, Nassau officials said. A map showing the areas of distribution is posted on the county website and includes areas in Elmont and Valley Stream near the Queens border, Massapequa and Farmingdale as well as Roslyn.

Once the baits are consumed, they immunize the raccoon and help prevent further spread of the rabies virus.

The cats that tested positive for rabies were found to have a strain of the virus prevalent in raccoons, according to the Nassau County Health Department.

The agency is asking dog and cat owners to keep their pets indoors or on leashes during the distribution days so the raccoons will have a chance to consume them. Dogs or cats that eat several baits may vomit but they are not considered harmful.

People who see the bait in the open are asked to put on gloves and then toss them deeper into the woods or under bushes.

Suffolk officials said they are considering a similar baiting plan later this year. Before the four raccoons in the Amityville area, the only animals that had tested positive for the virus since 2018 in the county were bats. The last rabies-infected raccoon in Suffolk was found in 2009.

Pet owners are also urged to make sure their animals are up — to-date on their rabies vaccinations. Both the Nassau and Suffolk health departments have sponsored free rabies vaccine clinics in recent months as another way to protect animals and reduce spread of the virus to people.

By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.