Quarantining

C. L. GOODING.

FEDERAL and State laws and regulations governing the movement of livestock and poultry and their products are needed to prevent the introduction and spread of disease.

We have had such laws since May 29, 1884, when the Congress approved an act that authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to establish quarantines, cooperate with the States in the control and the eradication of animal diseases, and prevent the exportation of diseased cattle.

The laws safeguard agricultural investments in livestock and poultry that on January 1, 1956, amounted to more than 11 billion dollars.

Before we had the laws, many animal diseases were introduced into the United States from abroad. At that time the animals went mainly to local markets for slaughter, so that diseases did not spread rapidly. But with the further development of rail and water shipping, livestock in increasing numbers began to move from one State to another, and healthy animals were exposed constantly to diseased animals.

A few States undertook to control and eradicate contagious pleuropneumonia, but the only ones that succeeded by their own efforts were Connecticut and Massachusetts. The livestock industry became concerned at the spread of disease and recommended that the Federal Government take action to prevent further losses.

The Commissioner of Agriculture in 1869 recommended to the Congress that a Veterinary Division be established to protect the Nation's livestock interests. He renewed his recommendation the following year.

Great Britain and other countries,fearful that livestock from the United States would bring in disease, in 1879 and 1880 restricted or prohibited the importation of United States livestock.

Contagious pleuropneumonia had spread to most of the New England States and as far west as Ohio by 1883. The next year the livestock industry received Federal support in the control and eradication of disease, and the United States Bureau of Animal Industry came into existence. Other Federal legislation, notably the Acts of 1890 and 1903, have provided additional support.

INTERNATIONAL INSPECTION and quarantine measures seek to prevent livestock diseases of foreign origin from gaining entrance into the United States. Thousands of animals and millions of pounds of animal products are imported each year from all over the world.

Absolute protection against the entrance of foreign diseases through such importations probably is impossible.

Effective protection is possible, however, if our applicable laws and regulations are enforced. Public understanding and support are essential.

A number of animal diseases, some of them relatively harmless and others extremely destructive, plague many other countries but do not exist in the United States. Every effort should be made to keep them out. Our livestock population is vulnerable, and our system of moving animals from place to place might make possible an explosion of disease from a small beginning.

Two ruinous diseases are rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease. Neither was known to be in the United States in 1955. Rinderpest has never appeared, but we have had at least 9 outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, 6 of them since 1900 and 1 in 1929, in California. Each time the disease was eradicated at a cost of many millions of dollars and much time and effort.

Section 306 (a) of the Tariff Act of June 17, 1930, has been of great value in keeping this country free from foot-and-mouth disease for so many years. This statute established an embargo against the importation of cattle, sheep, other domestic ruminants, and swine and against the fresh meats derived from such animals from any country declared by the Secretary of Agriculture to be infected with rinderpest or foot-and-mouth disease. Many of the major livestock-producing countries are infected with one or both of these diseases.

Animals not subject to the prohibition of section 306 (a) are potentially eligible for entry in compliance with the Department's sanitary regulations. Such regulations, promulgated under the Acts of 1890 and 1903, have been in effect for many years. From time to time it has been necessary to amend the regulations as the incidence of disease changed.

For all animals potentially eligible for entry, except equine stock, and except from Canada and some of the Northern States of Mexico, the importer or his agent must first obtain a permit from the Animal Inspection and Quarantine Branch. The Department of Agriculture thereby can weigh all essential factors relating to a proposed importation, such as disease conditions, transportation, and veterinary service in the country of origin.

It also enables the Department to specify certain conditions under which the importation may be made.

With few exceptions, animals offered for entry must be accompanied by a certificate of health issued by an official veterinarian in the country of origin showing that the animals have been in that country for at least 60 days immediately preceding shipment, that they have been inspected and found to be free from certain communicable diseases, and that they have not been exposed to such diseases.

All animals are given careful veterinary inspection upon arrival at a designated port of entry. If the examination discloses evidence of communicable disease or history of exposure to communicable disease, the animals are refused entry and are destroyed or returned to the country of origin. If they are found to be apparently healthy, they are permitted entry without further restrictions or, when subject to quarantine, are permitted to be moved into approved quarantine facilities.

Because some imported animals may be carriers of latent infections or (irrespective of certification to the contrary) may have been exposed to contagious or communicable diseases, quarantine is for a long enough time to assure freedom from disease or exposure thereto. Quarantine is considered the most important step in any importation. It stands as a bulwark between the livestock industry and diseases.

SANITARY REGULATIONS governing the importation of livestock and other cloven-hoofed animals did not include poultry before June 18, 1950.

An outbreak of Asiatic Newcastle disease in California in April of 1950, traced to an importation of game birds from China, prompted the issuance of regulations. Newcastle disease had existed in the United States for many years, but the virus strains isolated from outbreaks for the most part caused only moderate mortality. The strain isolated in the California outbreak proved to be highly lethal. The outbreak was quickly eradicated by destroying all diseased and exposed poultry and the cleanup and disinfection of infected premises.

Because of the wide variety of birds susceptible to Newcastle disease and other diseases common to poultry, the regulations broadly define poultry to include chickens, ducks, geese, swans, turkeys, pigeons, doves, pheasants, grouse, partridges, quail, guinea fowl, and peafowl, of all ages, and eggs for hatching.

An instance of the protection afforded the livestock and poultry industries through quarantine occurred in March 1954, when Newcastle disease occurred in a consignment of partridges from Spain while the birds were in quarantine at the port of New York. All the birds were immediately destroyed, and the quarantine area was thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. The strain of virus isolated from this outbreak was shown to be highly lethal for chickens. These game birds had been intended for restocking purposes in several States. Seven different outbreaks of Newcastle disease have occurred since then in poultry quarantined at the ports of New York and Los Angeles. The disease occurred in partridges, pheasants, quail, chickens, and doves.

POSSIBLE DANGERS along the boundaries between the United States and Mexico and between the United States and Canada are typified by conditions in 1946-1954. Foot-and-mouth disease existed in Mexico for two extended periods in those 8 years, and one outbreak occurred in Canada within 50 miles of our border. To protect this country against the entrance of foot-and-mouth disease from Mexico, there was established a border patrol of 700 men, who rode back and forth constantly in jeeps, on horseback, and in airplanes. They seized and destroyed more than 3,600 stray and smuggled animals and many thousands of pounds of prohibited and restricted meats and other products during the time foot-and-mouth disease existed in Mexico.

Inspection and quarantine activities along the border between Canada and the United States were like those along the Mexican border when foot-and-mouth disease existed in Mexico. Because of relatively unrestricted commerce between Canada and the United States for many years before 1952, however, the occurrence of foot-and-mouth disease in Canada created problems, particularly as to scheduled airline flights, railroad routes that cross and recross the boundary, the use of international roads and highways, and joint ownership of land and property in both countries adjacent to the boundary. Curtailment of commerce and trade constituted large economic losses in both countries. Canada normally supplied thousands of replacement animals to dairy and breeding herds in the United States and large quantities of hay and straw for feed and bedding.

Other diseases, such as dourine and glanders in horses and splenetic and tick fever in cattle, occur in extensive areas of Mexico next to the border.

Thus a potential danger exists that those diseases will be reintroduced into the United States. Other diseases, such as tuberculosis, brucellosis, and scabies, occur in livestock in Mexico and Canada. Scrapie in sheep has appeared in Canadian flocks. Vigorous inspection and quarantine measures against them are necessary.

THE BENEFITS of animal inspection and quarantine activities to the livestock industry of the United States are shown in import figures for 1955.

That year 251,999 cattle were imported from Mexico, and 1,933 cattle were rejected for entry because of disease or exposure to disease; 18,940 head of horse stock were imported from Mexico, and 483 were rejected; 24,420 blood tests for dourine and glanders were conducted on horse stock offered for entry from Mexico; 9 were positive and 30 suspicious to the dourine test, and 18 were positive and 61 suspicious to the glanders test.