Foot and Mouth Disease
How is it spread?
- FMD is mainly spread by animals breathing in the virus. It can also be spread by direct contact between animals and through breaks in the skin.
- The disease can spread very quickly by the movement of infected animals through livestock sales.
- The virus can be spread by contaminated vehicles and equipment and by people on their clothes and hands.
- The virus can be found in the breath, saliva, faeces, urine, milk and semen of infected animals.
- FMD can be spread by wind and can survive quite well in the environment and animal products.
What are the clinical signs of FMD?
Cattle are extremely sensitive to infection with FMD. Infected animals can be excreting the virus before they develop clinical signs.
The first signs of disease in cattle are:
- Fever, severe depression, off feed, shivering and reduced milk production.
- After 2-3 days, cattle develop blisters on their tongue, in their mouth and/or between the claws of the feet and at the top of the hooves. The blisters cause the cattle to smack their lips, grind their teeth and drool. They are also lame or stamp and kick their feet. The blisters are full of clear, straw-coloured fluid and burst within 24 hours, leaving red, raw areas. The blisters can also sometimes be seen on the udder.
- Recovery generally occurs within 8-15 days.
The death rate due to FMD is very low in adults, however up to 100% of animals on a farm can be affected. The death rate is higher in calves. Complications of FMD include secondary bacterial infection, mastitis and abortion.
Sheep, goats and pigs show milder forms of the disease.
What importance does FMD have?
FMD can lead to severe production losses on infected farms while the animals are sick or recovering. More importantly, however, the disease is a major constraint in the trade of livestock and livestock products. The presence of FMD in Australia would have a devastating effect on all livestock industries.
Australia's isolation and rigorous quarantine measures have so far kept FMD out of the country.
In the event of an outbreak in Australia, eradication measures are likely to involve:
- Quarantine of infected areas, control, and surveillance of animal movements.
- Slaughter and burial or burning of all infected, recovered or in-contact animals.
- Disinfection of all premises, equipment, cars, clothes, etc.
For more information on Australia's emergency animal disease preparedness please visit the Animal Health Australia web site.
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Exotic Disease Watch Hotline: ph. 1800 675 888
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