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The Government’s Efforts Against
Foot-and-Mouth Disease
April 2, 2001
All Canadians are aware of the terrible outbreak
of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the United Kingdom as well as in European
Union countries (France, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland) and Argentina.
Though FMD poses no threat to humans, an outbreak
of this highly contagious disease would have a devastating effect on Canada’s
livestock (cattle, swine, sheep, goats, deer and other cloven-hoofed ruminants),
with losses reaching billions of dollars in the first year.
Canada has been free of FMD since 1952, and our
government is determined to keep it that way. That is why the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency (CFIA), in cooperation with Canadian livestock and food
industry partners, has put in place a series of measures designed to
significantly reduce the chances of FMD spreading to Canada:
- The CFIA is prohibiting importation of
susceptible animals and animal products from the EU and Argentina. The CFIA
has suspended the issuance of import permits for live animals, semen, embryos
and animal products – such as unprocessed dairy products – from
susceptible animals.
- The CFIA and the Canada Customs and Revenue
Agency (CCRA) have increased controls and implemented enhanced risk management
measures to further increase vigilance at all international airports. This
includes the use of disinfectant footbaths for all international flights and
increased detector dog activity.
- Compliance investigations for the handling and
disposal of international garbage at airports and seaports have been
increased. The Department of National Defence has developed, in cooperation
with the CFIA, a national directive on biosecurity measures for incoming
personnel and equipment.
As we implement the preventive measures, Canada
remains ready to contain and eradicate any outbreak of FMD in Canada swiftly and
effectively.
The CFIA has developed a very detailed
emergency response plan for FMD – a plan that is revised regularly to improve
our response capability. In fact, Canada, the United States and Mexico
took part, in November 2000, in a simulation of a North American outbreak of FMD
– an exercise carried out so that the three countries
could practice their respective and collective animal disease emergency response
plans.
The current strategy is designed to quickly
identify all exposed premises, depopulate exposed and potentially exposed
high-risk animals, decontaminate the environment and avoid further spread,
so that Canada could regain its FMD-free status without delay.
However, because of the ease with which FMD
can be carried and transmitted, the CFIA has also asked Canadians to
observe the following precautions:
For travelers:
- Declare all meat, dairy or other animal
products that you want to bring back to Canada.
- If you visited a farm while abroad make sure
that the clothing and footwear you wore during your visit are free from soil
or manure. Clean and disinfect your footwear. Dry cleaning of clothes is
recommended.
- Stay away from Canadian farms for 14 days
after returning to Canada.
For farmers:
- Prevent farm or ranch visits by anyone who has
been to the United Kingdom in the last
14 days.
- If visitors must come to the farm they should
take additional sanitary precautions such as washing and disinfecting
all personal effects and equipment that have accompanied them. It is
particularly important to clean and disinfect footwear.
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