Foot and Mouth Disease - Countries officially recognized by Canada as free of the disease

The following countries are officially recognized by Canada as being free of Foot and mouth disease (FMD).

FMD is a highly contagious disease that affects mostly cloven-hooved ("two toed") animals. It can cause economic devastation: an outbreak of FMD in the United Kingdom in 2001 cost the equivalent of $16.5 billion Canadian, in today's dollars.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) takes serious measures to prevent the introduction of FMD into Canada. When officially recognizing a country as free of FMD, the CFIA assesses a country's FMD control measures and does not rely on country self-declaration or World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) status.

Species that can be infected

• Suidae (pigs, wild boar)
• Bovinae (cattle, bison, water buffalo)
• Caprinae (sheep, goats)
• Camelidae (llamas, alpacas, vicunas, guanacos, and Bactrian camels)
• Antilopinae (antelopes, gazelles, blackbucks, springboks, gerenuks, dibatags)
• Cervidae (deer, elk, moose, caribou, reindeer)
• any cloven-hooved (two-toed) animals not otherwise listed
• insectivores (tenrecs, hedgehogs, shrews, moles)
• elephants
• giraffes and okapis
• tapirs
• hippopotami
• Xenarthra (anteaters, sloths, armadillos)
• aardvarks

Commodities that are a risk

• live animals and germplasm
• animal products and by-products
  • uncooked meat and meat products
  • raw milk and milk products made from raw milk (including unpasteurized cheese)
  • unprocessed manure
  • laboratory material
  • blood products
  • raw or unprocessed pet food
  • raw hides, skins, wool, antlers, horns, hooves
  • any other non-heat-treated products or byproducts from species previously named
  • animal feed and equipment that have been in contact with affected animals

Imports of animals or commodities previously listed from countries and/or zones not recognized as free are prohibited.

Countries the CFIA considers free of FMD

• Anguilla
• Antigua
• Argentina
  • Please note that only the following Argentinean provinces are recognized free of FMD:
    • Chubut
    • Santa Cruz
    • Neuquen (certain regions)
    • Rio Negro (certain regions)
• Aruba/Curaçao
• Australia
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Bermuda
• Brazil
  • Please note that only Santa Catarina is recognized free of FMD
• British Virgin Isles
• Cayman Islands
• Chile
• Costa Rica
• Cuba
• Dominica
• European Union
  • Bulgaria is the only European Union (EU) member state that is not usually considered free of FMD
  • However, there are currently outbreaks in several EU member states that are usually considered free of FMD
  • (Current outbreaks in the EU)
• Greenland
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Iceland
• Japan
• Mexico
• New Zealand
• Nicaragua
• Norway
• Panama
• Peru
  • Please note that only the following Peruvian states are recognized free of FMD:
    • Ancash
    • Cajamarca
    • La Libertad
    • Lambayeque
    • Lima
    • Piura
    • Tumbes
• Saba, St. Martin and Bonaire
• St. Eustatius
• St. Lucia
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• United States of America

EU member states with FMD restrictions

• The CFIA imposes restrictions beginning 28 days before the first symptoms are detected in the affected country (this is the start of the critical monitoring period).
• FMD restrictions do not apply to meat and products that have been heat treated to a minimum of 70°C for 30 minutes, but that information must be included in the official documents.
• Shipments of animal products and by-products coming from affected countries must be accompanied by official documents showing that they were collected or slaughtered before the beginning of the critical monitoring period or after restrictions are released (see the following table), or else the signature date of the certificate must be prior to the critical date.
• The importation of live animals or germplasm of the species previously listed coming from affected countries is prohibited.
• The importation of germplasm of the species previously listed coming from countries that have regained their freedom status is permitted if collected:
  • before the beginning of the critical monitoring period, or
  • after restrictions are released
  • see the following table for dates
• More detailed information can be found on the WOAH website regarding outbreak locations.