What is Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)?

About Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD):

• It is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of livestock that has a significant economic impact.
  • The disease affects cattle, swine, sheep, goats, and other cloven-hoofed ruminants.
  • It does not affect horses, dogs, or cats.
  • Intensively reared animals are more susceptible to the disease than traditional breeds.
• It is a transboundary animal disease (TAD) that deeply affects the production of livestock and disrupts regional and international trade in animals and animal products.
• It is not a human health or food safety threat. It is also not related to hand, foot, and mouth disease, which is a common childhood illness caused by a different virus.
• The organism which causes FMD is an aphthovirus of the family Picornaviridae.
  • There are seven strains (A, O, C, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3, and Asia1) which are endemic in different countries worldwide.
  • Immunity to one type does not protect an animal against other types or subtypes.
• Transmission:
  • FMD is found in all excretions and secretions from infected animals.
  • Notably, these animals breathe out a large amount of aerosolised virus, which can infect other animals via the respiratory or oral routes.
• The disease is rarely fatal in adult animals, but there is often high mortality in young animals.
• Symptoms:
  • FMD is characterised by fever and blister-like sores on the tongue and lips, in the mouth, on the teats, and between the hooves.
  • Ruptured blisters can result in extreme lameness and reluctance to move or eat.
  • Other frequent symptoms are fever, depression, hypersalivation, loss of appetite, weight loss, growth retardation, and a drop in milk production, which can persist even after recovery. 
• The disease causes severe production losses, and while the majority of affected animals recover, the disease often leaves them weakened and debilitated.
• It was the first disease for which the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) established official status recognition.
• Vaccines for FMD are available but must be matched to the specific type and subtype of virus causing the outbreak.

Q1: What is a Virus?

A virus is an infectious microbe consisting of a segment of nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein coat. A virus cannot replicate alone; instead, it must infect cells and use components of the host cell to make copies of itself. Often, a virus ends up killing the host cell in the process, causing damage to the host organism. Well-known examples of viruses causing human disease include AIDS, COVID-19, measles and smallpox.

Source: Centre to establish foot-and-mouth disease-free zones in eight States