Research overview: oral vaccination of wildlife reservoirs and indirect felid protection

Oral vaccination, delivered through baits, has been used to immunize wildlife reservoirs against rabies and is considered for other diseases, with indirect benefits for exposed felids. This overview surveys oral vaccination campaigns targeting carnivore reservoirs such as foxes and the potential to reduce disease circulation that spills into wild cats. It examines the design of baits, the challenge of reaching target species while avoiding non-target consumption, the successes in controlling wildlife rabies in some regions, and the relevance for protecting felids that are spillover victims. The synthesis connects vaccine delivery technology to wildlife disease control. It aims to help readers understand an approach that protects cats not by vaccinating them directly but by suppressing pathogens in the reservoir species, illustrating how landscape-scale vaccination of wildlife can ripple through to benefit felids and other spillover hosts.