- Also called:
- hoof-and-mouth disease or aftosa
foot-and-mouth disease
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What is foot-and-mouth disease?
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease that affects cloven-footed domesticated mammals like cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, as well as wild herbivores. It is characterized by fluid-filled vesicles (blisters) on the tongue, lips, udder, teats, and between the toes.
FMD spreads through contact between infected and susceptible animals, with the virus found in excretions and secretions. People, equipment, and even wind can also spread it. There are seven major immunologically distinct serotypes of the virus.
Eradication efforts include quarantine, euthanasia of infected animals, and thorough disinfection of premises. Vaccination can help control outbreaks, but the virus's continuous mutation makes protection challenging. FMD is economically devastating because of its rapid spread and impact on animal productivity.
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Which animals can get foot-and-mouth disease?
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease that affects cloven-footed domesticated mammals, such as cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. Wild herbivores, including bison, deer, antelopes, reindeer, and giraffes, are also susceptible. Horses are resistant to the infection.
FMD is characterized by blisters on the tongue, lips, and other tissues of the mouth and parts of the body where the skin is thin, such as the udder and teats, between the toes, and around the coronary band above the hoof. Because of its rapid spread and impact on animal productivity, FMD is considered the most economically devastating livestock disease. It is not a human health hazard.
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What are the main symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease in animals?
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease that impacts cloven-footed domesticated mammals like cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. Wild herbivores can also be affected. FMD is characterized by painful, fluid-filled blisters on the tongue, lips, mouth tissues, udder, teats, and between the toes.
Infected animals exhibit a characteristic smacking of the lips and will refuse to eat solid food. Blisters on the feet cause lameness.
Because of its rapid spread and impact on animal productivity, FMD is considered the most economically devastating livestock disease in the world.
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How is foot-and-mouth disease spread among animals?
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) spreads rapidly among cloven-footed animals, including cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, through contact with infected animals. The virus is present in all excretions and secretions of infected animals, especially when clinical signs appear.
Humans can inadvertently spread the virus on their hands, clothes, and shoes, and via contaminated farm equipment and vehicles. The wind can also carry the virus over several kilometers. The virus enters the body through the epithelium, forming vesicles and causing fever. Control involves quarantine, euthanasia of infected animals, thorough disinfection, and sometimes vaccination.
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Why is foot-and-mouth disease a serious problem for farmers?
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) poses a significant threat to farmers due to its highly contagious nature and devastating economic impact. The disease affects cloven-footed domesticated mammals such as cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, leading to reduced productivity.
The rapid spread of FMD can result in substantial weight loss in animals, decreased milk production, abortions, and secondary infections. While mortality rates are generally low, malignant forms of the disease can cause losses of up to 50 percent. Control and eradication efforts include quarantine, euthanasia of infected and susceptible animals, and rigorous disinfection of premises. Farmers face tremendous losses due to the disease's impact on animal health and trade restrictions imposed during outbreaks.
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What steps can be taken to prevent and control outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease?
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease that affects cloven-footed domesticated mammals. Preventing and controlling outbreaks of FMD involves several key steps:
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Quarantine Restricting the movement of animals that are suffering from or have been exposed to infections.
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Eradication efforts Quarantining the premises and euthanizing infected and susceptible animals. Carcasses are then buried or cremated.
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Mass immunization Mass vaccination can help control outbreaks. The availability of FMD vaccine banks enables rapid production of vaccines based on strains identified in a particular outbreak.
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Sanitation Thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting buildings and equipment because the virus can survive for weeks to months in the environment.
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Surveillance Implementing a rigorous surveillance system.
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foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a highly contagious viral disease affecting practically all cloven-footed domesticated mammals, including cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. Wild herbivores such as bison, deer, antelopes, reindeer, and giraffes are also susceptible. The horse is resistant to the infection.
FMD is characterized by the formation of painful fluid-filled vesicles (blisters) on the tongue, lips, and other tissues of the mouth and on parts of the body where the skin is thin, as on the udder and teats, between the two toes of the feet, and around the coronary band above the hoof. Laboratory tests are needed to confirm the diagnosis because several other diseases can produce similar lesions. Because of its rapid spread and impact on animal productivity, FMD is considered to be the most economically devastating livestock disease in the world. The disease is not a human health hazard.
The foot-and-mouth virus is a picornavirus of the genus Aphthovirus. There are seven major immunologically distinct serotypes of the virus: A, O, C, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3, and Asia1. Each serotype includes a number of strains having different degrees of infectivity, virulence, and pathogenicity. Immunity to one serotype does not convey immunity to any of the others.
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The virus is spread primarily by contact between infected and susceptible animals. An infected animal releases the virus in all excretions and secretions, especially during the onset of clinical signs. People can carry the virus on their hands (particularly under fingernails), clothes, and shoes and in their respiratory tract. Contaminated farm equipment and vehicles also can spread the disease, and the wind can transport aerosols containing the virus for several kilometres. There is no evidence that insects are involved in transmission.
The virus has an affinity for epithelium (the covering of the skin and mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract); it forms a primary vesicle where it gains entrance into the body. Within 24 to 48 hours, it enters the bloodstream, causing fever. A characteristic smacking of the lips then usually becomes prominent in the infected animal, ushering in the phase of the formation of vesicles on the tongue, gums, and lips. These vesicles rupture in about 24 hours, leaving raw, inflamed, and extremely painful surfaces that heal in one to two weeks. By this time the animal is refusing to eat solid food. Blisters also appear on the feet, causing lameness.
Eradication efforts begin as soon as a diagnosis of FMD has been made. The premises are quarantined, and all infected and susceptible animals on the premises frequently are euthanized and their carcasses buried or cremated. Because the virus can survive weeks to months in the environment, buildings and equipment must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected and the premises left uninhabited for several months. Vaccination can help control outbreaks. Because the virus mutates continually, protection from one vaccination rarely lasts more than several months or a year. The availability of FMD vaccine banks enables rapid production of vaccines based on strains identified in a particular outbreak. For many years, the inability to distinguish between vaccinated and naturally infected animals necessitated mass culling during outbreaks. The development of marker vaccines with serological test kits, however, has now enabled most vaccinated animals to be distinguished from infected animals. Although rapid detection of the latter during an outbreak could save healthy animals from culling, the fact that there is a small chance for misdiagnosis means that most susceptible animals in outbreak areas are euthanized.
The losses caused by foot-and mouth disease are tremendous. The mortality in ordinary mild epizootics (animal epidemics) is only about 5 percent, but malignant forms of the disease have led to losses of up to 50 percent. In those animals that survive, great losses in weight occur because the animals cannot eat. In surviving milk-producing animals, the flow of milk is sharply diminished. Abortions and mastitis (inflammation of the breast or udder) are common, and secondary infections are frequent.
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FMD is endemic in many regions of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and South America. In the modern world, increased mobility of animals and people and increased density of animal populations are important factors in promoting the spread of FMD. North America has remained largely free of the disease because of a rigorous surveillance system; the last major outbreak in the United States was in 1929. In early 2001 a major outbreak occurred in the United Kingdom, where more than six million animals had to be slaughtered. Outbreaks in the Netherlands and France followed shortly. In response the United States temporarily banned importation of all ruminants and swine and their products from the 15-nation European Union. Cooked and cured meats were not included because heating and processing kills the virus. The last major outbreak in the United Kingdom prior to 2001 was in 1967.