Foot-and-mouth disease: what you need to know

What is foot and mouth disease?

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is caused by a virus and is one of the most contagious diseases known to affect livestock.

It is a notifiable disease and any suspected cases must be immediately reported to the Department of Agriculture.

An outbreak in Ireland would threaten Ireland’s entire livestock farming sector.

What animals are affected by FMD?

FMD affects several species of livestock, including cattle, sheep, pigs and goats.

Deer and other wild animals can become infected by the disease, which affects all cloven-hoofed (divided-hoof) animals.

The outbreak in Germany was detected in a herd of water buffalo.

Is FMD a risk to human health or food safety?

FMD is not a risk to human health or food safety, with animal products in which the virus is present safe for human consumption, the Department stated.

However, the meat and dairy from infected animals should not be transported or imported, as this poses a risk to spreading the disease to other animals.

The Department also pointed out that FMD is not related to hand-foot-and-mouth disease in humans.

What are the signs of FMD?

The Department of Agriculture said that FMD causes fluid-filled blisters to develop on the tongue, dental pad, nose and feet of affected animals.

These blisters can develop to be very painful, as may be seen when affected animals show lameness, go off their food and salivate excessively.

Animals develop a fever just before the blisters appear and the fluid-filled blisters eventually burst to leave an open sore.

Signs of the disease can be a reduction in milk yield and younger animals, particularly piglets and lambs, may die without showing obvious signs.

Most adult animals will recover from the virus after 10 to 14 days.

Signs include:

What should I do if I suspect my animal has FMD?

If you suspect FMD in one of your animals, you must report it immediately to the Department of Agriculture.

Contact your local regional veterinary office (RVO) or the national disease emergency hotline on 01-492 8026 if outside of office hours to report a suspect case.

Should you suspect a case, do not allow people, animals, vehicles, carcases or anything else associated with animals off the farm until further advice is given to you by the Department of Agriculture.

How does FMD spread?

The Department has said that the virus is found in all excretions and secretions from infected animals, with the potential for spreading possible before the infected animal shows clinical signs.

Infected animals shed the virus in blister fluid, saliva, milk, expired air, urine and faeces. Animals can shed the virus before clinical signs appear.

The disease is spread by three main pathways:

What should I do if I am returning to Ireland from an impacted area, such as Brandenburg/Berlin?

Avoid contact with livestock, wildlife or places where livestock are kept while in an FMD-affected area.

You should take a shower before departing, paying particular attention to fingernails and hair.

The Department advises that you have no contact with any livestock for 14 days after arrival in Ireland.

Make your arrival known to the Department of Agriculture’s office if arriving into Dublin or Shannon. If arriving elsewhere or if you find the office closed, make contact with your local RVO.

Any clothing worn while visiting livestock farms, wildlife areas or zoos should be washed with detergent at 60C minimum and footwear should be cleaned thoroughly.

Do not bring back food items.

What would happen if an outbreak occurred in Ireland?

Should a case of FMD be identified in Ireland, the infected herd would be culled and the farm disinfected.

A 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone would be set up with “very strict movement controls and testing”.

A nationwide ban on animal movements would be very likely in the first few days if a case was discovered, while market access for Irish livestock and animal products would collapse immediately.