Q. What is foot-and-mouth disease?
A.A highly infectious viral disease affecting livestock.
Q. Which animals are susceptible?
A.Cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, deer and other cloven-hoofed ruminants, although horses are not affected (elephants, hedgehogs and some rodents are susceptible but do not develop clinical signs of the disease).
Q. What are the symptoms?
A.Fever and blister-like sores on the tongue and lips, in the mouth, on the teats and between the hooves.
Q. Is it a killer?
A.Death is not usual but animals do stop gaining weight and milk production in dairy cattle falls.
Q. Are there risks to humans?
A.Foot-and-mouth disease is not a public health threat. Human cases are extremely rare. It is an animal disease which is not related to the human condition, Hand, Foot and Mouth disease (Coxsackie virus).
Q How is it spread?
A.An outbreak can occur when animals carrying the virus are introduced into susceptible herds; when people wearing contaminated clothes or footwear, or using contaminated equipment, pass the virus to susceptible animals; when contaminated facilities and vehicles are used to hold and move susceptible animals; when animals are exposed to contaminated materials such as hay, feed, water and semen, or when meat or animal products infected with the virus are fed to susceptible animals.
Q. When and where was the last outbreak in Europe?
A.In Greece last year.
Q. What parts of the world are most affected?
A.The disease is endemic in Africa, South America, India and the South Pacific.
Q. What can be done to prevent its spread?
A.All farm visitors should wash and disinfect personal effects and equipment they have with them which have been used on other farms.
Q. Why is it difficult to counter its spread?
AIt is hard to make synthetic vaccines because the viruses mutate so quickly a vaccine that is effective against one strain may be ineffective against others.
PA