Foot-and-mouth

Foot-and-mouth disease
Ruptured oral blister in diseased cow.
Classification and external resources
Specialty	infectious disease
ICD-10	B08.8 (ILDS B08.820)
ICD-9-CM	078.4
DiseasesDB	31707
MeSH	D005536
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Foot-and-mouth disease or hoof-and-mouth disease (Aphthae epizooticae) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever for approximately two to six days, followed by blisters inside the mouth and on the feet that may rupture and cause lameness.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has very severe implications for animal farming, since it is highly infectious and can be spread by infected animals comparatively easily through contact with contaminated farming equipment, vehicles, clothing, feed and by domestic and wild predators. Its containment demands considerable efforts in vaccination, strict monitoring, trade restrictions, quarantines and occasionally the culling of animals.

Susceptible animals include cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, pigs,antelope, deer, and bison. It has also been known to infect hedgehogs and elephants;llamas and alpacas may develop mild symptoms, but are resistant to the disease and do not pass it on to others of the same species. In laboratory experiments, mice, rats, and chickens have been successfully infected by artificial means, but they are not believed to contract the disease under natural conditions. Humans are very rarely infected.

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