What is Foot and Mouth Disease?By Sarah Hoggan, from the April 2001 Newsletter
Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is a highly contagious exotic viral disease. It's classified as exotic because it was eradicated from the United States in 1929. Any Foot and Mouth Disease infection in the United States would have to be imported from another country.
That's not as unlikely as it may sound because the virus is highly resistant to drying out and can easily be carried on clothing. That's why large gatherings, such as the St. Patrick's Day celebration, aren't permitted in the affected areas of Britain. Additionally, the virus can spread on dust particles in the wind so controlling an outbreak is very difficult.
Foot and Mouth infection is rarely fatal. It's serious because of the economic devastation it causes. Cows, pigs, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed animal are susceptible to the virus. Horses aren't at risk. Additionally, Foot and Mouth disease poses very little threat to humans.
Foot and Mouth disease affects animals by causing painful blisters to form in their mouths and on their coronary bands, the area where the fur ends and the hoof begins. The blisters later pop and large raw ulcers develop. Consequently, the first signs a farmer may see of FMD are excessive drooling or lameness. In very young animals FMD can prove fatal, but usually the infection runs its course in 2-3 weeks.
You may wonder, "If the animals usually recover, why are they all destroyed?" Exposed and infected animals are euthanized to try to control the spread of disease.
Dr. George Barrington, a food animal veterinarian at Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine explained the impact of FMD: "If Foot and Mouth Disease gets into a dairy, the cows stop producing milk. They just stop producing for weeks. That destroys a dairy operation." He added that euthanasia isn't the only step taken in controlling the outbreak, "Good routine hygiene also limits the spread of the virus. It's resistant to drying but very sensitive to pH changes. Even a mildly acidic environment inactivates it."
Additionally, vaccines are available and wide and rapid vaccination is being discussed as a means of further controlling the outbreak in Britain.
The toll of the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak won't be fully realized for several months. The British meat and milk supply isn't at risk of contamination from Foot and Mouth Disease, but their production animal population has been decimated. Not only are small family farms suddenly ruined by the losses of their livestock, but also meat and milk will likely have to be imported to feed Britain's population. Consequently, United States consumers may yet be impacted by this devastating outbreak.
For more information on Foot and Mouth Disease, the Centers for Disease Control has a Web site of related articles at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/fsheet_faq_notice/fs_ahfmd.html.
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