Learn about the transmission of foot and mouth disease in animals, livestock prevention tips, and signs and symptoms of an infection.
Kathy H. struggled to shove her carry-on bag into the overhead compartment. She had just spent two weeks visiting distant relatives in England’s farm country, and stashed deep inside the bag was a pork sausage made there on her cousin’s farm. Kathy owned a dude ranch in northern Colorado, and was returning from her first visit to Europe. She had no way of knowing that in a little more than seven hours, her innocent, apparently small act of smuggling would lead to the most devastating outbreak of a foot and mouth disease in animals since an outbreak in 1929. Her actions would lead to the mass slaughter of millions of animals and the economic demise of thousands of farmers and ranchers.
Although Kathy’s story is strictly hypothetical, it is completely conceivable. Consider the reality:
Transmission of Foot and Mouth Disease in Animals
Foot and mouth disease (FMD) in animals is a highly contagious virus that affects all cloven-hoofed livestock, including cattle, pigs, sheep and goats. It is the most contagious livestock disease, and, according to one U.S. Department of Agriculture official, “moves like wildfire.” More exotic livestock, such as llamas, elk, deer, bison, bears, armadillos, hedgehogs and elephants, are also susceptible. The disease can easily be transmitted in the air, by direct contact or by ingestion. Air currents and wind can transmit virus particles from heavily infected animals up to 40 miles away.
The FMD virus can be carried in uncooked, under-processed meat, fat, and milk or food items (such as sausage). Virus particles can be transmitted on contaminated inanimate objects like soil, clothing and shoes, surviving up to 46 days at room temperature.
As she headed through customs, Kathy noticed signs instructing arriving passengers who had been to England to have their shoes disinfected in foot baths. The customs officer specifically asked her if she had visited any farms or had any food products in her possession. She felt herself flushing as she fibbed, hoping her sausage could make it home as a gift for a friend.
The customs official gave her a quick glance, lingering momentarily on Kathy’s reddened face. She looked innocent enough, and he nodded her through his portal without a baggage search. She stepped into the foot bath, then wheeled her luggage under the towering tent poles that supported Denver International’s massive white roof, heading toward her pickup parked in the outer lot.
Effected dairy cattle may show a considerable drop in milk production. As the disease progresses, there may by profuse slobbering as blisters form on the tongue, gums, lips or palate. Lameness occurs as blisters, or vesicles, form between the digits (hooves) and along the coronary band at the top of the hoof. Vesicles may form on the teats and udder as well.
In pigs, the main symptom is lameness. Pigs may lie down and will be reluctant to get up as the blisters form along the coronary band. They may squeal loudly when forced to move. Blisters form on the snout and quickly rupture, developing scabs.
Symptoms are more subtle in sheep and goats, but a sudden lameness may be noted, with blisters forming on the coronary band or in the mouth. Sheep may be reluctant to stand and will appear dull and sick.
Unable to contain her delight, Kathy delivered the sausage to the Clarence’s dairy on her way home. He appreciatively accepted it, passing it back and forth between his hands as he enjoyed its pungent garlicky aroma. He then headed out to do the evening milking.
Control of the Virus
There is no treatment for foot and mouth disease in animals. Livestock may recover, but will remain debilitated and will carry the virus for the rest of their lives. Humans, except in a few rare cases, are not susceptible, nor are horses and other non-cloven hoofed animals. Vaccination ultimately will be the preferred action in the face of an outbreak, but until now no effective test has been available to let veterinarians differentiate between vaccinated, disease free animals and those that carry the disease. Thus, when one animal showed symptoms, the entire herd had to be destroyed. A blood test has been developed to distinguish between animals that have been vaccinated and those that are actually carrying the virus.
The point of Kathy’s cautionary tale is that something as innocent as a smuggled sausage could wreak havoc in the American livestock industry. The epidemic would be even more devastating in the United States than in Europe, due to the close confinement and living conditions of livestock on factory farms.
You can find more on livestock diseases in these Mother Earth News articles: Colic in Horses, Worming Sheep and Horses, Identifying and Treating Zoonotic Disease, and The Facts of Mad Cow Disease.
