Travelers from European countries and Argentina are not exactly getting a warm welcome in the U.S. these days. They are urged to wash their clothes and wipe their shoes before heading to America. At U.S. airports, their shoes are disinfected and their baggage is sniffed by dogs to see if they've packed any meat or other food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says these measures will help prevent foot-and-mouth disease from entering the U.S.
Foot-and-mouth is an infection that causes pigs, sheep, goats, cows and other animals with hooves to get blisters mainly in their mouth and on their feet. An outbreak began last month in Britain. Last week, after the disease spread to France, the U.S. temporarily banned animals and animal products from infected countries.
A Threat To America's Farms
While the disease is not dangerous to humans, it can kill animals or cause them to produce less milk and lose weight. It spreads easily among herds both through direct contact and through the air, and it can travel from country to country in live animals and in the meat of infected animals and nonpasteurized dairy products.
Vaccines are not totally effective. To stop foot-and-mouth, all infected or exposed animals must be destroyed. So far, more than 130,000 farm animals have been killed in Britain alone. This is expected to cause meat shortages and a rise in meat prices in Europe.
James McInnes is one of many unhappy British farmers. The disease has made his 111-acre pasture and 70 head of cattle almost worthless. He would like to "pack up and leave," but he is not allowed to move because he could spread the disease. Britain's beef industry was already in trouble because of another infection known as mad-cow disease. Foot- and-mouth is the last straw. Says McInnes: "You can only imagine the state of despair that I'm in."
Until the outbreak ends, travelers will continue to be inconvenienced at U.S. airports. But officials say that's a small price for keeping American herds safe. Warns Craig Reed of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service: "An invasive disease could devastate our agricultural economy."