What is FMD?
Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), also called Hoof-and-Mouth Diseaseis, is a highly contagious, viral disease of cattle, swine and other cloven-hoofed animals.
FMD does not affect humans.
The disease, rarely found in industrialized countries, is endemic to many developing countries. There has not been an FMD outbreak in the U.S. since 1929.
Clinical signs include fever and blister-like lesions and erosions on the tongue and lips, in the mouth, on the teats and between the hooves of affected animals. FMD can be confused with several similar, but less harmful diseases, mainly vesicular stomatitis, bovine virus diarrhea and foot rot. Whenever blisters or other typical signs are observed and reported, tests must be conducted to determine whether the disease causing the symptoms is indeed FMD. Many animals recover from FMD, but the disease leaves them debilitated, and often causes severe losses in meat and milk production.
FMD can be spread by animals, people or materials that bring the virus into physical contact with susceptible animals.
What's happening with FMD world-wide?
According to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), just 59 countries, including the U.S., enjoy FMD-free status.
For a current list of FMD-free countries worldwide, go to http://www.oie.int/eng/info/en_fmd.htm?e1d6.
What is being done to keep foot-and-mouth disease out of the United States?
As a primary protection, countries with endemic FMD are not allowed to export products that may transfer FMD to the United States.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) strategy for protecting the United States from the risk of FMD includes four main components:
• Outside U.S. borders, monitor for the occurrence of FMD and other foreign animal diseases worldwide, evaluate the potential exposure of the U.S. to foreign outbreaks and reduce the threat of FMD’s spread to the United States.
• At U.S. borders and other domestic ports of entry: Regulate, inspect and intercept or quarantine products and animals potentially carrying the disease.
• Inside the United States: Maintain a strong animal health infrastructure including surveillance and monitoring systems and research capacity to quickly detect the FMD before it spreads.
• Also inside the United States: Establish and maintain a strong emergency response system to quickly control and/or eradicate the disease. Federal emergency planners regularly carry out test exercises simulating a disease outbreak and challenging existing response plans, policies and procedures. APHIS and other federal agencies have implemented two international and two regional exercises since 1998, as well as participating in numerous state and local exercises. One of the two international drills was a joint exercise with Canada, Mexico and the United States.
What can beef producers in the U.S. do to help prevent Foot and Mouth Disease?
• Watch for excessive salivating, lameness and other signs of FMD in your herd and immediately report any unusual or suspicious signs of disease to your veterinarian, state or federal animal disease control officials or your county agricultural agent.
• Know who is on your farms/ranches/property at all times. If people from other countries where confirmed cases of FMD have been found are scheduled to visit your property, make sure they wear freshly cleaned clothing and footwear.
• When hosting visitors from countries not free from FMD, avoid livestock areas, pens, barns, etc., unless it is necessary to complete the goal of the visit.
• If traveling to countries not free from FMD, do not bring prohibited food items or other products home with you, including soiled footwear and clothing. You could risk transmitting FMD to your own herd. Ensure that luggage, packages and mail do not contain prohibited meats, dairy products or other at-risk materials before entering the United States. If you’ve taken your pet with you to a country not free of FMD, make sure they are free from dirt and mud before coming home. Once home, bathe your pet thoroughly and keep it away from livestock for at least five days after entry into the United States.
What does the government’s FMD response plan look like?
USDA keeps constant vigilance to prevent the introduction of FMD, widely believed to be the most economically devastating livestock disease, into the United States. Outbreaks of FMD around the world—most significantly in the United Kingdom, where the government depopulated nearly 4 million potentially affected animals after the 2001 FMD outbreak—prompted USDA to strengthen its disease exclusion activities at U.S. ports of entry. This has included prohibiting the import of ruminants and swine and their products from affected countries; augmenting the number of agricultural inspection officers at major ports; working with the U.S. Armed Forces to ensure proper, routine cleaning of military vehicles and other equipment; and conducting a public education campaign for travelers.
In Fiscal Year 2001-2002, USDA authorized the use of an additional $32 million to support hiring approximately 350 more inspectors at high-risk U.S. ports of entry. USDA also uses the experiences gained in the United Kingdom outbreak to continually to update emergency response plans for FMD and other foreign animal diseases. At least half of all U.S. states have conducted emergency preparedness exercises this year in cooperation with state and local agencies, and 46 states now have updated, written animal health emergency plans. APHIS recently released its Federal Emergency Response Plan for An Outbreak of FMD or Other Highly Contagious Diseases to help foster greater coordination of disease response and information sharing activities among State cooperators, industry groups, and other involved parties. The complete USDA/APHIS Emergency Response Plan can be found at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/fsheet_faq_notice/fs_ahfmdres.pdf.
Does USDA have a compensation plan in place?
USDA has a plan to financially compensate livestock owners for losses caused by an animal disease outbreak such as foot-and-mouth disease. If an “extraordinary emergency” developed due to a U.S. outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease, the Secretary of Agriculture legally may seize, quarantine and dispose of any livestock found to be affected with, or exposed to, the disease. In such an emergency, producers will receive 100 percent of fair market value for animals depopulated because of an FMD outbreak.
That value will be determined by federal and state government employees.
Payment for the livestock will be shared equally between the state and federal governments. If a state is unable to pay its 50 percent, the federal government will pay the entire amount. Producers are assured of receiving 100 percent of fair market value from one source or another. There is no risk that the producer will only be partly compensated if the state does not have a cooperator program or matching funds. The indemnity program is designed so producers can work with government agencies to eradicate foreign diseases. However, producers intentionally moving or handling animals in a way that violates the law will not receive payment.
Revised June 22, 2004