The Dormant Volcano has Erupted:
Foot and Mouth Disease

By Carole Holt

The skies around Britain are alight with the fires of massive ‘funeral pyres’ as the cull of thousands of farm animals all over the country are burnt on their farms. To give you an idea of the scale, on one farm to incinerate 800 pigs, a 120 foot ditch is required, two lorry loads of straw, 250 railway sleepers, 75 tons of coal and gallons of oil and diesel. The fires are kept going for about 24 hours; some farms have thousands of animals that need to be destroyed. I don’t know if it is possible to describe the smell that the wind is blowing over the countryside, not only does it mean death on a large scale of many animals, it also means the end of a life in farming for some farmers. After the BSE crisis this is just one disease too many.

The question on everyone's lips is, how could it have happened after a gap of twenty years? Foot and mouth disease, one of the most feared of all diseases in the farming industry, has hit Britain.

I hope that this article may help to answer some of your questions.

What is Foot and Mouth Disease?

FMD is a type of vesicle disease. It is highly infectious and spreads very quickly over long distances by wind. It can also be spread by foot, cars, lorries etc.

Which animals can catch FMD?
Pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, deer, wild and domestic cloven- hoofed animals, yaks, elephants, hedgehogs and rats.

Can humans catch the disease?
The general public cannot catch the disease; only in very rare circumstances with people that work with infected animals can this disease be caught. People can spread FMD by foot, and clothing, that is why the general public are being asked not to go into the country, why farmers are not allowed to leave their farms and police officers stand guard outside farms that have contracted the disease. It is also the reason foot dips are being used at airports to try and stop the spread of this contagious disease.

Can pets catch FMD?
Dogs and horses cannot catch FMD. But they can carry the disease from farm to farm on their feet and coat. If your pet is a rare breed or a zoo type of animal please check with your veterinary practice, as it may be possible to have your animal inoculated against FMD. This practice is not carried out on European farm animals.

What are the signs and symptoms?

Cattle
The early signs: A depressed milk yield, they may go off their feed and run a fever.
Later signs: Animal may start salivating profusely and by this time vesicles may be noticed on the lips, on the teats and around the coronet of the hoofs (the join between hoof and skin). Cattle may start chomping or smacking their lips.

Pigs
The early signs: In pigs it is lameness and fever. In piglets sudden death due to cardiac failure.
Later signs: Pigs may have vesicles that appear and burst within 24 hours, infection may get in the sores and pigs may loose their hooves. These vesicles may also appear on and around the snout.

Sheep
Sudden and severe lameness, an unwillingness to move and when made to rise, they stand in a half-crouching position with the hind legs brought well forward and are reluctant to move. Blisters may be found on the join between where the hoof and the skin meet. In the mouth blisters may also be found on the tongue and dental pad.

Deer
(This includes reindeer, moose, white-tail, sika, and fallow) Severe disease may develop in muntjac and roe deer and they may die. Mild clinical symptoms with vesicles in the mouth.

How is it spread?
This is the big problem! It can spread by direct or indirect contact with infected animals; infected animals begin by excreting the virus a few days before signs of the disease develop. When the disease does show itself and the vesicles burst concentrated forms of the virus spill out of the animals. Because the virus can spread itself before it can be seen it can be transported hundreds of miles and infect other farms before the veterinary officer has been alerted.

How is the virus destroyed?
Because it can remain active in a frozen or chilled carcass of an infected animal or contaminated object, the only way of destroying the carcasses is by burning them and washing contaminated objects in a special disinfectant.

At the moment of writing the number of cases has just doubled, all National Parks have been closed and many country pubs have also closed there doors. People have been ordered not to go into the country. While Europe waits and prays that FMD will not jump the channel, farmers in Germany are starting to cull all the farm animals that have just been brought in from the UK. We all hope that this will be enough to stop the spread.

I hope that this article has helped to answer a few main questions about this highly contagious disease and also given reassurance to people with pets. It you do have a rare breed or a zoo type of pet and are not sure if your pet may be at risk do get in touch with your veterinary practice where they will advise you.