Foot-and-mouth Disease

    
Foot-and-Mouth ulcers and blisters
Photos by: Brenda Mayle; Reproduced from Deer-UK.com

What is foot-and-mouth disease?
This is a highly infectious viral disease which is spread among wild and domestic cloven-hoofed animals.

Transmission of foot-and-mouth disease:
Ingestion of the virus is the only known method of transmission.  The FMD virus is found in saliva, feces, urine, milk, semen, meat, and meat byproducts of infected animals. It can survive for several hours in airborne droplets, which allows aerosol transmission to occur up to 35 miles away. Other means of transmission include direct contact among animals and indirect contact from virtually any object or material.

Symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease:
It is characterized by blisters on the mouth and on the skin around the hooves of the infected animals. Other symptoms include excessive salivation, fever, lameness, loss of appetite, lethargy, and even abortion.  The blisters rupture easily creating ulcers (lesions), which can cause the infected animal to look like it has EHD.

Where is foot-and-mouth disease found?
The United States is currently FMD free.  The disease has not been seen in the U.S. since 1929.  There have been outbreaks in Europe recently.

Treatment of foot-and-mouth disease:
The virus can be killed off by heat, low humidity, or some disinfectants. It is only rarely fatal, although it is more likely to kill very young animals. There is no cure for the disease, and it usually runs its course in 2 or 3 weeks with most animals recovering, although some animals take up to 6 months to fully recover.

Significance of foot-and-mouth disease:
The disease does not affect food safety or humans, however it causes severe losses in the production of milk and meat in the livestock industry. Also, the disease is highly contagious with nearly 100 percent of exposed animals becoming infected, therefore it can be extremely costly to the livestock industry.

[Return to Deer and Disease article]
-or-
[Return to Disease Page]