As a result of these quarantine releases, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada have informed officials of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a part of USDA's marketing and regulatory programs mission area, that they will resume accepting livestock from New Mexico provided that specific testing and certification requirements for vesicular stomatitis are met. These requirements include a 30-day isolation period on a premises where no vesicular stomatitis has been officially reported. Animals intended for exportation also must be protected from insect vectors during the residency period and during transport to Canada. Currently, the majority of premises affected by vesicular stomatitis are located in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. Additional premises are under quarantine for this disease in Wyoming and Utah.
Vesicular stomatitis is a viral disease that can affect horses, swine, cattle, and other ruminants.
It causes affected livestock to develop blisters in the mouth and on the dental pad, hooves, and teats. These blisters swell and break, leaving raw tissue that causes affected animals to become lame and to refuse food and water. The last occurrence of vesicular stomatitis in the southwestern United States was in 1985.