What Is a Foreign Animal Disease?

Foreign animal diseases, more commonly referred to as FADs, are diseases which are not normally present in the animal populations of the United States. Many FADs can greatly impact animal health with some even capable of causing death and sever economic consequences in the US animal population. The most well-known example of an FAD is Foot-and-Mouth Disease, which is currently impacting animals in other parts of the world, but it has not been the cause of a US outbreak since 1929.

What Foreign Animal Disease Should I Be Aware Of?

African Swine Fever- A highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting both domestic and feral swine of all ages. To learn more, visit THIS PAGE from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or THIS PAGE from the National Pork Board.

Foot and Mouth Disease- A severe and highly contagious viral disease that can cause illness in cows, pigs, sheep, goats, deer, and other animals with divided hooves. Completely unrelated to “Hand, foot, and mouth disease,” the common children’s virus. To learn more, visit THIS PAGE from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Classical Swine Fever- A highly contagious and economically significant viral disease with varied severity depending on the virus strain, age of pig, and immune status of the herd. To learn more, visit THIS PAGE from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

For a complete Reportable Disease List, visit this page from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry

Do Foreign Animal Diseases Make People Sick?

In the case of many of the foreign animal diseases we monitor for, like African Swine Fever, only pigs are impacted. This means diseases like ASF pose no threat to public health or food safety.

When Should I Report a Suspected Case?

Any suspected clinical case of a reportable disease should be reported immediately to the State Veterinarian’s Office. This includes:

If an animal dies acutely and was exhibiting clinical signs of a reportable disease
Any highly unusual condition, unusual clinical signs of any kind, and any instance of very high morbidity and/or mortality

The Oklahoma State Veterinarian’s Office can be reached at 405-522-6141

How Do Foreign Animal Diseases Spread?

Are there vaccines to protect pigs from Foreign Animal Disease?

The collective pork industry, in conjunction with medical researches, scientists, and government agencies, are hard at work to develop a commercially available vaccine for FADs like African Swine Fever. As of the summer of 2022, no commercially available vaccine exists for ASF, but a major milestone was reached in April of 2022. You can read more about that milestone and all the progress that’s been made in this article from the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

Beyond African Swine Fever, vaccines are readily available globally for conditions like Foot and Mouth Disease and Classic Swine Fever.

What’s The Economic Impact of a Foreign Animal Disease Outbreak like African Swine Fever?

According to a 2019 study conducted by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University, the economic impact of a foreign animal disease outbreak in the US would be devastating. They estimate as much as $50 billion in lost revenue for the US pork industry and nationwide employment losses of 140,000 jobs by the end of 10 years. We’d also expect to see significant revenue losses in related and supporting industries such as feed.