RISK OF INTRODUCING EXOTIC DISEASE THROUGH IMPORTATION OF ANIMALS ANDANIMAL PRODUCTS

Between 1870 and 1929, nine separate outbreaks of foot and mouth disea se (FMD) occurred in the United States of America (USA); additional ou tbreaks in North America include one in Mexico (1947) and Two in Canad a (1870 and 1952). In 1930, the United States Congress enacted a law p rohibiting importation of live ruminants or swine or fresh meat from t hese species into the USA from countries affected with FMD or rinderpe st. Although the effect of this prohibition may be debated, the USA ha s remained free of FMD since its enactment. A hidden benefit of this p rohibition was probably the limitation on importing other disease agen ts from countries of the world where FMD was present. As many regions of the world make progress towards the control and eradication of FMD, North America must fake greater cognizance of other disease agents wi th which it has not been concerned to date, as these existed only in r egions of the world affected with FMD and/or rinderpest. One of the me thods of dealing with these other diseases is by using risk assessment and risk management methodologies. For risk assessment to work howeve r, the available management technologies must be examined, and levels of risk assigned to match the available technology. The authors explor e risk analysis options for the importation of animals and animal prod ucts in a manner which will continue to protect the livestock industry in the USA. They also examine the role of veterinary biologicals as a management tool to mitigate the attendant risks.