Emergency Response: Foot and Mouth Disease and Other Foreign 

Animal Diseases

In carrying out our safeguarding mission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) works to ensure the continued 

health and welfare of our Nation’s livestock and poultry. One important aspect of this 

work is making sure we can readily detect foreign animal diseases, such as foot-andmouth disease (FMD), and respond effectively when faced with an outbreak.

Looking for Diseases

A key element of our detection and response system is the large number of private 

veterinary practitioners who partner with livestock producers to report suspected foreign 

animal disease cases. These veterinarians are accredited by USDA and receive extra 

training on the signs of foreign animal diseases of concern. Their reports to State, Tribal,

and Federal animal health authorities set in motion the next step in our emergency 

response process.

When a suspected foreign animal disease case is reported, we work with officials in that 

particular State to immediately send one of more than 500 highly trained foreign animal 

disease diagnosticians to the farm in question. The diagnostician collects samples from 

the affected animals and establishes initial quarantines to protect against disease spread. 

The samples are quickly transported to APHIS’ National Veterinary Services 

Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, IA, or to NVSL’s Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic 

Laboratory (FADDL) on Plum Island, NY, for diagnosis. These samples receive 

immediate attention, and initial results can be available within 24 hours of sample 

collection. If needed, a second set of samples can be tested at select National Animal 

Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) laboratories.

Responding to Detections

If the official laboratory tests confirm the sample is positive for a foreign animal disease, 

APHIS partners with State and Tribal officials to begin investigating the source of the 

disease and trace any animals that may have come into contact with the disease. We 

notify other State, Tribal, and Federal officials of the investigation’s status, and 

emergency response efforts then begin at the local and/or State level. APHIS works with 

State officials as they establish State hold orders or quarantines on specific locations or 

areas as needed. APHIS also puts Federal quarantines in place if needed.

If the situation involves a large number of sick or dying animals, or animals that must be 

depopulated to stop disease spread, APHIS emergency response teams take immediate 

steps to ensure the biosecurity of an affected site, establish and maintain animal 

movement quarantines, and alert officials in neighboring States. We also activate

Animal and Plant

Health Inspection 

Service

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APHIS’ Emergency Operations Center (AEOC), if needed, to begin managing 

communication and disease eradication efforts between Federal, State, Tribal, and local 

officials.

Coordinating the Response

APHIS partners with other government agencies to leverage all available resources for

use in an emergency. Depending on the scale of the outbreak, APHIS coordinates with 

one State or more, or we pull national resources to support the response. When an animal 

health emergency has national impacts, APHIS works closely with other Federal 

agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the 

Interior, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. All Federal agencies

involved follow National Response Framework guidelines. 

APHIS also coordinates the National Veterinary Stockpile (NVS) program. The NVS 

is our Nation’s repository of veterinary “countermeasures”—animal vaccines, antivirals, 

supplies, equipment, and response support services. The NVS exists to provide States, 

Tribes, and Territories with tools to combat an animal disease outbreak. The NVS can 

dispatch—within 24 hours—critical resources animal health officials need to keep 

disease from spreading.

In addition, the North American Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Bank stores a 

limited number of inactivated FMD virus antigens so that, in the event of an FMD 

outbreak, the bank can rapidly produce a vaccine. The vaccine bank serves the United 

States, Canada, and Mexico.

Handling an FMD Outbreak

APHIS leads the response to an FMD outbreak, due to our animal health authority and 

expertise. Cooperating Federal agencies may, in turn, provide support to us as necessary 

to control and eliminate the disease.

Because FMD is highly contagious, any detection in the United States would 

immediately activate incident management activities and groups, including the AEOC. 

There, APHIS officials would help manage local, State, Tribal, and Federal response and 

eradication efforts; coordinate interagency planning; and carry out national 

communication and information-sharing strategies. This support role is vital to ensuring 

a smooth response effort.

APHIS officials would notify animal health officials in Canada and Mexico about any 

FMD detection in the United States and our subsequent response efforts. In that case, 

APHIS’ North American counterparts are prepared to put similar disease surveillance and 

control measures into action as well. This would help safeguard livestock resources in 

other areas of North America and prevent FMD from spreading further.

APHIS officials would also alert the World Organization for Animal Health, the 

international animal health governing body, of any FMD outbreaks and all steps taken to 

control the disease in the United States.
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In addition, during an FMD response, APHIS personnel would help partners develop 

emergency response plans and interim regulations as needed to address the situation. 

Officials would stay in close contact with U.S. trading partners to offer information and 

monitor for unnecessary trade restrictions on our country’s products.

Recovering From FMD

Once the FMD outbreak has been initially contained, our efforts would shift to helping 

producers recover from their losses. We would evaluate the disease situation and work to 

regionalize any remaining affected areas, which has two benefits: (1) it focuses disease 

eradication resources in key areas, and (2) animals in other areas of the country can be 

classified as disease-free, allowing them to move interstate and to slaughter. We would 

also work with animal health officials in other countries to relay critical disease 

monitoring information, which would help keep export markets open for animals and 

products certified as disease-free.

After eliminating the disease, we would meet with cooperators at all levels to assess our 

response activities. These types of assessments help us develop new or better ways to 

share resources and improve our future response efforts.

Learn More

For more information about emergency response for FMD and other foreign animal 

diseases, contact:

USDA APHIS

Veterinary Services

District Offices

1-866-536-7593

Current information on animal diseases and disease outbreaks is also available on our 

website at www.aphis.usda.gov.