Import Restrictions Lifted for Horses from New Mexico Entering Canada due to Vesicular Stomatitis

Ottawa, ON – Equine Canada’s Breeds & Industry Division and Health & Welfare Committee would like to inform all stakeholders that effective immediately the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has eliminated import restrictions for horses from New Mexico that are entering Canada as a result of additional information it received from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding the recent cases of vesicular stomatitis (VS) reported in these states.

USDA has advised the CFIA that the last remaining VS related quarantine in the state of New Mexico was released on August 18, 2009. Therefore, all current VS related import restrictions for horses from the state of New Mexico will now be removed. The state of Texas was also affected but restrictions on importing horses from that state were removed by the CFIA on July 31, 2009.

Current import requirements for equidae entering Canada may be found using the CFIA Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) at http://airs-sari.inspection.gc.ca. To determine specific import requirements for each horse, specific parameters that refer to each horse’s circumstances will need to be entered and customized import requirements will be provided.

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Vesicular stomatitis is a disease that primarily affects cattle, horses and swine, and occasionally sheep and goats. Humans can be exposed to the virus when handling affected animals but rarely become infected. Vesicular stomatitis causes blister-like lesions in the mouth and on the dental pad, tongue, lips, nostrils, hooves, and teats. These blisters swell and break, leaving raw tissue that is so painful that infected animals show signs of lameness and generally refuse to eat and drink which results in severe weight loss. There is risk of secondary infection of the open wounds. Animals usually recover within 2 weeks. While vesicular stomatitis can cause economic losses to livestock producers, it is a particularly important disease because its outward signs are similar to—although generally less severe than—those of foot-and-mouth disease, which horses are not susceptible to. The only way to distinguish among these diseases in livestock other than horses is through laboratory tests.

The mechanisms by which vesicular stomatitis spreads are not fully known; insect vectors, mechanical transmission, and movement of animals are probably responsible. Once introduced into a herd, the disease apparently moves from animal to animal by contact or exposure to saliva or fluid from ruptured lesions. Historically, outbreaks of vesicular stomatitis have occurred in southwestern United States during warm months and particularly along river ways. However, outbreaks are sporadic and unpredictable. (Source: USDA)