On February 21, USDA announced similar actions regarding the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. These measures are part of a coordinated prevention program to ensure the disease does not spread into the United States. Passengers are required to identify any farm contact to Customs and USDA officials.
All baggage is subject to inspection.
FMD is a highly contagious and economically devastating disease of ruminants and swine. The United States has been free of FMD since 1929. FMD is one of the animal diseases that livestock owners dread most because it spreads widely and rapidly and because it has grave economic consequences. Humans are not susceptible to the disease.