About Foot and Mouth Disease
Foot and mouth disease is an infectious disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals, in particular cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and deer. Other ruminants including deer and some zoo animals, camelids (camels, llamas, alpacas, guanaco and vicuña) and elephants can also be affected. The disease is serious for animal health and for the economics of the livestock industry. While FMD is not normally fatal to adult animals, it is debilitating and causes significant loss of productivity; for example milk yields may drop or the animals may become lame. In young animals it can be fatal on a large scale.
Factsheets
- Foot and Mouth Disease factsheet
- How to spot foot
and mouth disease
(759 KB) - Biosecurity – Preventing the
introduction and the spread
of foot and mouth disease (593 KB)
- What will happen when
foot and mouth disease (FMD)
is suspected or confirmed (693 KB)
Biosecurity
It is important that high standards of biosecurity are maintained. Biosecurity is the prevention of disease causing agents entering or leaving a livestock premises. It involves a number of measures designed to prevent disease being spread from one premises to another. Biosecurity guidance to prevent the spread of animal diseases has been developed.
See also
Page last modified:
14 January, 2008
12:30