U.S. Has Safety Net to Prevent Entrance of Foot-and-Mouth

Agencies offer tips to travelers to prevent disease transmission to the United States.

While foot-and-mouth disease is making headlines in Europe and elsewhere, officials in the United States are working hard to keep the financially devastating disease out of this country, a University of Nebraska dairy and beef veterinarian said.

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"The United States has an active surveillance program to prevent the disease from entering the country," said David Smith, an Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources veterinarian. "This disease has long been recognized as one of the most economically devastating diseases of livestock. If an outbreak occurred, there would be no food safety issue as humans do not get the disease, but the price of meat could increase because of limited supply."

Foot-and-mouth disease, which has not been found in the U.S. since 1929, is an extremely contagious virus that affects cloven-hooved animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and deer. Symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease include lameness, excessive salivation, reluctance to eat, abortion and blisters on the mouth and feet. The disease is usually not fatal but infected animals are slow to recover, which affects meat and dairy production, Smith said. Infected animals must be destroyed to prevent further spread of the disease, adding to the financial burden of producers who then must replace their herds.

"The virus is easily transmitted through direct contact between animals or through movement of contaminated vehicles, shoes, clothing or food," he said. "It can survive in the environment for up to one month."

Smith stressed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains an active program to prevent foot-and-mouth disease from entering the country.

"USDA controls movement of all livestock into the United States. This country doesn't bring in meat, milk or livestock from countries that have foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks," he said. "These efforts have been strengthened since the outbreak in Europe."

People returning from foot-and-mouth disease-infected countries also must help prevent the spread of the disease.

"Travelers present a difficult-to-control risk for introduction of the virus into this country," Smith said. "Travelers and their pets that have been on farms in countries with foot-and-mouth disease should not visit U.S. farms, ranches or zoos for at least one week."

Travelers should comply with all requests and recommendations of USDA officials. Those requests may include washing all clothing and disinfecting shoes and suitcases, Smith said. Travelers should not try to sneak in meat or dairy products from other countries, he said.

According to the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the following products can be used effectively to disinfect for Foot-and-Mouth Disease:

* sodium hydroxide (lye) solution (2 percent). Mix a 13-ounce can in five gallons of water;

* sodium carbonate (soda ash) solution (4 percent). Mix one pound in three gallons of water.

* Citric acid 0.2 percent solution

* Acetic acid (vinegar) 2 percent solution. Mix one gallon of vinegar (4 percent) in a gallon of water.

* Virkon S (Antec International) at a 1:200 dilution.

* Sodium Hypochlorite (household bleach). Mix three parts bleach to two parts water.

For those who plan on traveling abroad and live or work on U.S. farms, ranches or feedyards, the TAHC recommends having all clothing laundered or dry cleaned before returning to the U.S. Remove all dirt or organic material from shoes, luggage, personal items, etc. Wipe the items with disinfectant, and don't bring prohibited products home. They also suggest avoiding contact with animals or areas where animals have been held for at least five days before coming home to the U.S.

"Veterinarians and livestock producers should also be on constant watch for disease symptoms and report any suspicions to USDA veterinarians immediately," Smith said.

"If foot-and-mouth disease became a problem here, we could not market livestock, meat, or milk products internationally because many countries wouldn't take them," he said. "If the outbreak were limited to one region of the country, there would also be severe restrictions on movement of products from that area."

With security measures in place, the chance that foot-and-mouth disease will reach the United States is small. If the disease did reach this country, USDA has specific plans to keep the disease from spreading.

"If a diagnosis were confirmed by USDA, that farm would be quarantined, the herd would be depopulated and tests would be performed on herds within a zone around the farm to see if the disease had spread,"

Smith said. "There would be swift action to prevent the disease from getting any further."

For more information on foot-and-mouth disease, call USDA's toll-free telephone center at (800)601-9327. The center is staffed by veterinarians and import/export experts from USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Information also is available on the web at http://www.usda.gov/special/fmd/fmd.html.