Foot and Mouth Disease

Question 1

What was the difference between the 2001 and 2007 outbreak?

Answer 1

The 2001 outbreak is estimated to have cost over 3.1 billion pounds from losses in agriculture and the food chain, plus an addition 2.7 to 3.2 billion pounds from lost tourism

The 2007 outbreak:

• Point source was the pipe in the car park at the VLA Pirbright
• No national spread
• Mainly small and hobby farms in Surrey
• Difficulties in locating all infected premises (IP)

Difference between 2001 and 2007 outbreak – thing that caused the biggest issue in 2001 was they put a ban in place for movement of animals within 48h, whereas in 2007 – they put a ban in place immediately.

Question 2

What are some methods of transmission of FMD for DIRECT contact?

Answer 2

•Ingestion of animal products

• uncooked, salted, cured meats
• unpasteurized milk, other dairy products
• Natural mating, AI, embryos
• Direct contact with infected wildlife
• Wind-borne transmission – incredibly infectious, can travel really far!!

Question 3

What are some methods of transmission of FMD for INDIRECT contact?

Answer 3

via fomites on i.e. contaminated clothing, footwear, veterinary tools, vaccine guns, contaminated vehicles travelling from farm to farm, electricians, dead stock collection, cattle trucks, market places, loading ramps and roads etc.

Question 4

What is the recovery like for FMD?

Answer 4

Recovery in 2 weeks unless secondary infection arise / Death in young animals

Question 5

What is the incubation period for FMD?

Answer 5

2-12 days

Question 6

What is the morbidity and mortality for FMD?

Answer 6

Morbidity 100% in susceptible population

Mortality <1% (higher in young animals and highly virulent virus strains animals generally destroyed to prevent spread)

Question 7

Where do you get oral lesions for FMD?

What does this cause?

Answer 7

Vesicles on tongue, dental pad, gums, soft palate, nostrils and muzzle

Causes excess salivation, drooling, serous nasal discharge

Question 8

Other than oral lesions, where else do you get lesions with FMD?

What do these cause?

Answer 8

Teat lesions - decreased milk production

Hoof lesions: interdigital space, coronoary band - causes lameness and reluctance to move

Question 9

What clinical signs of FMD do you get in pigs?

Answer 9

Hoof lesions - more severe than in cattle - on the coronary band, heel, interdigital space - causes lameness

Snout vesicles

Oral vesciales less common, drooling is rare

Question 10

What is the difference for clinical signs of FMD in pigs comapred to cattle?

Answer 10

Clinical signs more severe in pigs than in cattle – easier to identify in pigs

Drooling rare in pigs as they are not ruminants so less saliva produced

Question 11

What are the clinical signs of FMD in sheep and goats like?

More or less severe than in cattle?

Answer 11

Mild, if any, signs: fever, oral lesions, lameness

Makes diagnosis and spread of disease difficult

MILD SIGNS COMPARED TO CATTLE

Question 12

What is the problem with vesicular stomatitis in cattle?

Answer 12

In a cow – cannot differentiate between vesicular stomatitis and FMD – don’t want to miss it! Do want to phone APHA and ask to investigate further

Question 13

What is the biggest differential diagnosis for FMD in cattle?

Answer 13

vesciular stomatitis

Question 14

What are the biggest differential diagnoses for FMD in pigs?

Answer 14

Vesicular stomatitis

Swine vesciular disease

Vesicular exanthema of swine

Question 15

What is the biggest differential diagnoses for FMD in sheep and goats?

Answer 15

Vesicular stomatitis - rarely show signs though

Question 16

What is the prevalence of FMD in horses, donkeys and mules?

Answer 16

They are not affected

Question 17

What are the clinical signs of vesicular stomatitis comapred to FMD in cattle?

Answer 17

FMD - Oral & hoof lesions, salivation, drooling, lameness, abortions, death in young animals, “panters”; Disease Indicators

Vesicular stomatitis - Vesicles in oral cavity, mammary glands, coronary bands, interdigital space

Question 18

What are the clinical signs of vesicular stomatitis, swine vesicular disease and vesicular exanthema of swine comapred to FMD in pigs?

Answer 18

FMD - Severe hoof lesions, hoof sloughing, snout vesicles, less severe oral lesions: Amplifying Hosts

Vesicular stomatitis - Vesicles in oral cavity, mammary glands, coronary bands, interdigital space

Swine vesicular disease - Severe signs in animals housed on concrete; lameness, salivation, neurological signs, younger more severe

Vesicular exanthema of swine - Deeper lesions with granulation tissue formation on the feet

Question 19

Other than vesicular stomatitis, swine vesicular disease and vesicular exanthema of swine - what are some other additional differential diagnoses for FMD in SWINE?

Answer 19

• Foot rot
• Chemical and thermal burns

Question 20

Other than vesicular stomatitis and swine vesicular disease - what are some other additional differential diagnoses for FMD in cattle and sheep?

Answer 20

• Rinderpest
• IBR – more respiratory though than lesions on feet and blisters on ulcer
• BVD – do a bulk milk sample to rule out
• MCF
• Bluetongue – particularly for goats and sheep
• Pox virus – pseudocowpox etc - relates to lesions on teat predominantly
• Plant toxins
• Papilloma virus (non-vesicle look alike)
• Ulcerative diseases (non-vesicle look alike)
• Photosensitisation (non-vesicle look alike) – can lead to blisters on ulcer if there is no pigmented skin there

Question 21

Is FMD zoonotic?

Answer 21

Humans act as transmitter to animals

Rare, low incidence in people (40 cases since 1921)

Question 22

What is the incubation period of FMD in HUMANS?

Answer 22

Incubation period 2-6 days

Question 23

What are the clinical signs of FMD in HUMANS?

Answer 23

Clinical signs:

1. Mild headache
2. Malaise
3. Fever, tingling, burning sensation of fingers, palms, feet, prior to vesicle formation
4. Oral blisters

Question 24

What is hand foot and mouth with relation to FMD?

Answer 24

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HFMD) – sometimes confused with FMD – different virus, different story!!

NOT THE SAME THING!

Question 25

Why do we have a national control strategy in place for FMD?

Answer 25

Because it is economics related!! Not that much to do with animal welfare, more to do with farmer welfare – because if we keep a country free from it, it gives us lots of stuff to trade with other countries. When we had the outbreak, we could not export any animals or their products – economic impact is huge. A lot of politics involved

Question 26

What is the current eradication programme in place currently?

Answer 26

confirmatory diagnosis, destruction of exposed cadavers, bedding, animals and animal products. Zone put in place on that farm – everything in certain zones culled.

Question 27

What are the main ways that you have prevention and control of FMD?

Answer 27

Eradication program in place currently:

• confirmatory diagnosis, destruction of exposed cadavers, bedding, animals and animal products. Zone put in place on that farm – everything in certain zones culled.

Vaccinate to kill

• Ring vaccinate to slow spread
• All vaccinated farms to be depopulated within 1 or 2 weeks of vaccination
• If you find a positive case – go and vaccinate all animals within a zone – reduces spread of disease – but farms will still be depopulated as under the current regulations. Don’t have a DIVA vaccine.

Vaccinate to live

• Only done in endemic areas
• Huge implications
• Does not protect against infection, just clinical signs
• International trade status affected