Animal Health Regionalization and Compartmentalization

We evaluate the animal health statuses of foreign regions for the diseases and pests listed below. We also conduct commodity-based assessments if APHIS cannot recognize a region as free of one or more of these diseases or pests.

• African swine fever
• African horse sickness
• bovine spongiform encephalopathy
• classical swine fever
• contagious equine metritis
• fever ticks
• foot-and-mouth disease
• highly pathogenic avian influenza
• Newcastle disease
• scrapie
• screwworm
• swine vesicular disease

Requesting a Regionalization Evaluation

Requests for recognition of the animal health status of a region must include the following information (per 9 CFR 92.2):

1. Scope of the evaluation being requested
2. Veterinary control and oversight
3. Disease history and vaccination practices
4. Livestock demographics and traceability
5. Epidemiological separation from potential sources of infection
6. Surveillance
7. Diagnostic laboratory capabilities
8. Emergency preparedness and response

See Clarification of Information Requested for Recognition of a Region (69.71 KB) for details about the information that the requesting region must provide for an evaluation.

Requesting an Evaluation as a "Historically Free" Region

We may consider a region to be historically free of a particular disease if it has not occurred in the region’s domestic livestock for at least 25 years or its wildlife for at least 10 years. Requests for recognition that a region is historically free of a disease must include the following information (per 9 CFR 92.2):

1. Scope of the evaluation being requested
2. Veterinary control and oversight
3. Disease history and vaccination practices
4. Disease notification
5. Disease detection
6. Barriers to disease introduction

See Clarification of Information Requested for Recognition of a Historically Free Region (49.71 KB) for details about the information that the requesting region must provide for an evaluation.

We evaluate foreign regions to classify their status for bovine tuberculosis (TB, Mycobacterium bovis) and brucellosis (Brucella abortus) in bovine animals (per 9 CFR 93.438 and 93.441, respectively).

Regions APHIS has not evaluated for bovine TB are by default classified at the highest risk level (Level V) and may only export bovine animals to the United States for direct slaughter. Regions that want to export bovine animals to the United States for other purposes must undergo an APHIS evaluation for classification as Level I-IV for bovine TB.

Regions APHIS has not evaluated for brucellosis are classified at the highest risk level for that disease (Level III). Regions that want to export sexually intact cattle to the United States may wish to request an APHIS evaluation for brucellosis classification as Level I or II. These levels are associated with reduced import testing for that disease.

Requesting a Bovine TB or Brucellosis Status Evaluation

Regions seeking APHIS evaluation and classification for bovine TB, brucellosis, or both must define the region under consideration, specify the prevalence of the disease(s) among bovine herds in the region, and demonstrate the following:

1. Effective veterinary control and oversight in the region
2. Bovine TB and/or brucellosis is a notifiable disease in the region
3. The region has a program for brucellosis or bovine TB that, at a minimum, includes—
   • Epidemiological investigations after the discovery of any animal or affected herd with non-negative test results.
   • Affected-herd management designed to eradicate the disease from those herds and documentation regarding this management.
   • Regulatory controls on the movement of livestock into, within, and from the region that correspond to the risk of disease spread.
   • Access to, oversight of, and quality control of diagnostic testing for the disease(s).
   • Surveillance equivalent to or exceeding U.S. surveillance standards for the disease(s).
   • Brucellosis vaccination programs, if present, conducted in an APHIS-approved manner (requirement only for regions seeking APHIS evaluation for brucellosis).

Find out more about our bovine TB evaluation procedures (1.04 MB) and brucellosis evaluation procedures (1.05 MB).

Foreign regions requesting an APHIS evaluation and classification must complete the bovine TB evaluation questionnaire (54.71 KB) or brucellosis evaluation questionnaire (51.44 KB).

Regions requesting APHIS classification of their bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) risk status as negligible or controlled can find out more about our process in 9 CFR 92.5. 

• If WOAH classifies a region’s BSE risk status as negligible or controlled, APHIS will evaluate documentation to determine whether our agency concurs with WOAH’s classification.
• If WOAH has not classified a region’s BSE risk status as negligible or controlled, the region must submit an official request for classification to APHIS, along with supporting documentation.

For more information, consult the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) website, including details on their standards and WOAH BSE classifications.

Compartmentalization is an important tool animal health officials can use to protect against disease spread and support continued trade during a disease outbreak. The livestock or poultry in a compartment are managed using consistent, strict biosecurity and health practices and are kept separate from other populations of animals. This means there is a minimal risk that compartmentalized animals are exposed to disease. When disease strikes, unaffected compartments could still be eligible for international trade.

Requests for compartmentalization evaluations must include the following information (per 9 CFR 92.2.):

1. Scope of the evaluation being requested
2. Veterinary control and oversight of the compartment
3. Disease history and vaccination practices
4. Livestock or poultry commodity movement and traceability
5. Epidemiologic separation of the compartment from potential sources of infection
6. Surveillance
7. Diagnostic laboratory capabilities
8. Emergency preparedness and response

Our process for conducting compartmentalization evaluations is similar to our process for conducting regionalization evaluations. See Clarification of Information Requested for Recognition of a Compartment (267.44 KB) for details about the information that the requesting region must provide for a compartmentalization evaluation.