e immune titer levels resulting from the vaccine. These programs caught the attention of the staff of the Zoonosis Control Division of the Texas Department of Health . Why couldn't a similar program work on the coyotes in south Texas? Work on that very question began.III. DETAILS OF THE PROGRAM Several hurdles had to be cleared in order to put vaccine laced baits on the ground. The following are some of the issues that had to be addressed before the program could be pursued: How was the program going to be funded? Would the vaccine even work in coyotes? Could Texas secure FDA licensure for use of a vaccine in coyotes that had only recently been approved for use in the US in foxes? How could enough vaccines be spread across a wide enough area to be effective?A. FUNDINGThe first major hurdle was, of course, funding. If the program could not be funded, then there was obviously no reason to pursue the venture any farther. The Texas Department of Health sent a request for Contingency Funds to the USDA through the Texas Animal Damage Commission (ADC). The Texas ADC acts a conduit for State and Federal transactions because of their affiliation to both State and Federal government. The request had to be routed through the Texas ADC, the Federal ADC and eventually end up on the desk of the Secretary of Agriculture. The USDA contingency funds are federal moneys that are earmarked for emergency response to cases of animal diseases such as foot and mouth disease or other traditionally foreign animal diseases. The spread of rabies north, through south Texas was, however, such an immediate problem with such great potential for loss that $1.39 million was granted to the State of Texas by the USDA. The Texas Health Department also committed $1 million to the program. B. VACCINE/BAIT DEVELOPMENTOnce the funding for the program was secured, the next step was to determine if the vaccine could be made to work in coyotes. The programs in Europe, Canada an...
