Foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease is caused by a virus of the family Picornaviridae, genus Aphthovirus. It is a highly contagious and economically important disease of cloven-hoofed domestic animals (cattle, buffaloes, pigs, sheep, goats) and wild animals (adapted from FAO no date; WOAH, no date).
Primary reference(s)
FAO, no date. Foot-and-mouth disease. Accessed 28 May 2025.
WOAH, no date. Foot and mouth disease (FMD). World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). Accessed 28 May 2025.
Annotations
Additional scientific description
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a devastating animal disease affecting all cloven-hoofed animals, both domestic and wild species. The virus is among the most infectious in veterinary medicine, prompting major concern among livestock producers FMD can be controlled by vaccination with a matching vaccine; there are seven immunologically distinct serotypes: A, O, C, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3, and Asia1 which do not confer cross immunity (WOAH, no date). Each country typically maintains a list of registered veterinary vaccines approved for use. For specific regulations, consult the country's veterinary authorities. (WOAH, no date).
The most common means of transmission for the FMD virus is by direct contact between FMD-infected and healthy animals. All secretions and excretions of clinically ill (sick) animals are extremely infectious. Therefore, significant risk factors for transmission include shared grazing or watering points and movement and mixing of different groups of animals. Cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats are especially vulnerable to infection transmitted by aerosols (air-borne particles carrying the virus), which is the main source of infection in animals living in close quarters (EU, no date; WOAH, no date).
In rare cases, FMD infection has appeared to be transmitted by air over long distances, but this has only ever occurred under particular conditions - where large numbers of infected pigs generate a plume of virus that is conveyed downwind to susceptible cattle or sheep.
FMD is characterized by depression, lameness, excessive salivation, anorexia, reduced milk yield and fertility. Clinical examination reveals the formation of vesicles (blisters) in and around the oral cavity, feet and on the teats (FAO, no date; WOAH, 2022).
The morbidity rate (number of animals clinically affected) may approach 100% in susceptible cattle populations. FMD is estimated to circulate in 77% of the global livestock population, in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as well as in a limited area of South America. Countries that are currently FMD-free remain under constant threat of an incursion (WOAH, no date).
FMD is not transmissible to people so it does not pose a risk to human health.
However, FMD has an important impact on livelihoods and economic development as it is a significant impediment to international trade and movement of susceptible livestock and animal products. FMD-free countries will not accept imports of animals or products from countries that are not free of the disease.
For FMD outbreak response, implement biosecurity measures and movement controls. Emergency (ring) vaccination may be employed. Stamping out may be applied in previously free countries that intend to regain this status. Livestock keepers should regularly check animals of susceptible species and report any suspect cases to a veterinarian or veterinarian service.
Metrics and numeric limits
FMD is a WOAH-listed disease and must be reported to the Organisation, as indicated in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code. World Animal Health Information System WAHIS is the global animal health reference database of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). WAHIS data reflects the validated information since 2005 reported by the Veterinary Services from Member and non-Member Countries and Territories on terrestrial and aquatic Listed diseases in domestic animals and wildlife, as well as on emerging diseases and zoonoses. WAHIS includes interactive mapping tools and dashboards to support data consultation, visualization and extraction of officially validated animal health data (WOAH, no date).
Key relevant UN convention / multilateral treaty
WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) (WTO, 1994). https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/agrmntseries4_sps_e.pdf
United Nations. 2023. UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods - UN Model Regulations. https://unece.org/transport/dangerous-goods/un-model-regulations-rev-23
UNODA, 1972. Convention on the prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of bacteriological (biological) and toxin weapons and on their Destruction. https://legal.un.org/avl/ha/cpdpsbbtwd/cpdpsbbtwd.html
Drivers
FMD spreads easily in areas experiencing civil conflicts or disasters resulting in the displacement of animals together with people. In such areas, vaccination to raise herd immunity is difficult to perform, and movement (displacement) of susceptible animals spreads the disease. Lack of biosecurity, swill feeding, unregulated transport and trade of susceptible animals (cattle, buffaloes, pigs, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed ruminants) and uncooked animal products (FAO, no date) are also drivers.
Impacts
Spread of infection, trade ban, compromise Sustainable Development Goals. It has a huge detrimental impact on livelihoods, food security and national economies through loss of milk yields, lowered fertility and reduced or prohibited access to markets (FAO, no date; WOAH, no date).
Multi-hazard context
Low-income and lower-middle-income countries bear 75% of the global costs of FMD prevention and control and Africa and Eurasia are the regions contributing the most to that cost, accounting for 50% and 33% of the global expenditure of FMD control and prevention, respectively (WOAH, no date). Thus, it threatens the livelihood of millions of poor livestock keepers and food security in the FMD endemic regions. FMD-infected countries are excluded from international trade of live susceptible animals, their meat and meat products (FAO, no date). Although FMD had been largely controlled in developed nations, in 2001, an outbreak in the United Kingdom spread to the Netherlands, with smaller outbreaks in France and Ireland, before being brought under control by widespread culling. The experience left its mark on the psyche of many of the farmers who lived through the tragedy: the United Kingdom alone suffered economic losses of more than USD 12 billion, and some 6.5 million sheep, cattle and pigs were slaughtered to halt the spread of the disease (FAO, 2012).
Risk Management
Vaccination with a matching vaccine (prevention), movement control, improvement of farm biosecurity, and depopulation of infected herds may be applied in some situations (WOAH, no date).
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) are working together for global control of FMD. In partnership with the FAO-based European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD), the FAO has developed the Progressive Control Pathway for Foot-and-Mouth Disease control (PCP-FMD), which guides endemic countries through a series of incremental steps to successfully control the disease (FAO, no date).
Early detection and rapid response are key to minimizing the impact of FMD introduction. Therefore, it is important to raise the awareness of livestock keepers about the disease and what signs to look out for, to stress the importance of regularly checking susceptible animals and reporting any suspicious signs to a veterinarian or veterinarian service.
Monitoring
The section and the table below offer an overview of monitoring for foot and mouth disease. This information can be used for forecasting within a national early warning system (EWS). Since EWS capacities and processes differ across countries, the most current and specific information regarding EWS should be obtained from the appropriate national or regional agency/authority responsible for disaster management.
| Which institution(s) produce(s) Disaster Risk Data/Information? | FAO Reference Centres, WOAH Reference Centres |
| How is the Hazard Observed/Monitored/Forecast? | EuFMD FMD quarterly reports https://www.fao.org/eufmd/resources/reports/quarterlyreport/en/ FAO empres-i+ https://empres-i.apps.fao.org/diseases WOAH WAHIS https://wahis.woah.org/#/event-management |
References
EU, no date. Questions and Answers on Foot and Mouth Disease. Food Safety. European Union (EU). Accessed 1 September 2024.
EuFMD, no date. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). The European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD). Accessed 1 September 2024.
FAO, 2001. Foot-And-Mouth Disease The UK epidemic. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Accessed 28 May 2025.
WOAH, 2022. Foot and mouth disease (FMD). World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). Accessed 1 September 2024.
WOAH, 2024a. Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals, 13th edition. World Organisation for Animal Health WOAH. Accessed 1 January 2025.
WOAH, 2024b. Terrestrial Animal Health Code. 32nd edition. World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). Accessed 1 January 2025.
WOAH, no date. WAHIS: World Animal Health Information System World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). Accessed 28 May 2025.