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Travelers Will See Increased Scrutiny From USDA Inspectors

(Auburn, March 22---)Washington D.C., March 23---Travelers entering the United States from areas infected with foot-and-mouth disease may be under more scrutiny from U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors.

USDA is placing additional inspectors and dog teams at airports to check incoming flights and passengers. USDA inspectors are on heightened alert at ports of entry and airports to ensure passengers, luggage and cargo are checked as appropriate.

Travelers are prohibited from carrying into the United States any agricultural products, particularly animal products, that could spread the disease. Passengers are required to identify any farm contact to Customs and USDA officials. All baggage is subject to inspection. Violations could result in penalties of up to $1,000.

The dog teams working at a number of the nation's international airports are part of the USDA Beagle Brigade. It is a special unit of passively trained detector dogs in bright green jackets. On leashes and under the constant supervision of their handlers, the beagles sniff out prohibited fruit and meat in the luggage of passengers arriving from overseas.

In addition to increased inspection, USDA is launching a public education campaign that includes additional signage in airports, public service announcements, an information hotline, a Web site and other tools to inform the public about the disease and the steps they can take to prevent it from entering the United States.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is not considered a human health risk, but humans can carry the virus on their clothing, shoes, body (particularly the throat and nasal passages) and personal items. The disease is an extremely contagious and economically devastating disease. It spreads easily among cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and deer.

The United States has been free of FMD since 1929.

People traveling to infected regions and returning to the United States need to take steps to help prevent the accidental introduction of the disease into this country.

Travelers to the United States from FMD-infected countries should take the following preventive measures:

  • Avoid farms, sale barns, stockyards, animal laboratories, packing houses, zoos, fairs or other animal facilities for 5 days prior to travel.

  • Before travel to the United States, launder or dry-clean all clothing and outerwear. All dirt and soil should be removed from shoes by thorough cleaning prior to wiping with a cloth dampened with a bleach solution. (5 teaspoons of household bleach in 1 gallon of water). Luggage and personal items (including watches, cameras, laptops, CD players and cell phones), if soiled, should be wiped with a cloth dampened with a bleach solution.

  • Avoid contact with livestock or wildlife for 5 days after arrival in the United States.

Extra precautionary measures should be taken by people traveling from farms in infected locales to visit or work on farms in the United States. It is advisable that employers or sponsors provide arriving travelers with a clean set of clothing that can be worn after the visitor showers and shampoos thoroughly. Visitor's traveling clothes should be laundered or dry-cleaned immediately. Off-farm activities should be scheduled for the visitor's first 5 days in the country, and contact with livestock or wildlife should be strictly avoided.

(SOURCE: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA)