Foot and mouth
Foot and mouth is a virus affecting animals. While it does not pose a health risk to humans, the impact of an outbreak could cause problems for the economy.
- What is foot and mouth?
- What are the symptoms?
- How is it spread?
- What is being done to prepare for it?
- Do I need to protect myself?
- What might be the impact of an outbreak?
- Find out more
What is foot and mouth?
Foot and mouth is a very infectious virus that affects certain types of animals – cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and deer are particularly susceptible. There has been the odd rare case of a human catching the disease, but even then it only had a mild effect.
What are the symptoms?
It depends on the type of animal, but some common symptoms are:
- Blisters on mouth and feet (or hooves)
- Lameness
- Reluctance to move
How is it spread?
The disease can be spread through the air, and animals can also contract it from contact with each other and objects that have been in contact with an infected animal.
What is being done to prepare for it?
Advice is being given to animal owners to:
- Practice the highest standards of biosecurity.
- Remain vigilant and report any suspicions immediately.
- Examine their livestock twice a day.
If there is an outbreak, then strong measures are taken to contain it:
- Infected animals are slaughtered.
- Movement of animals is restricted.
- A 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone are set up around the area of outbreak.
- In the protection zone, disinfectant is used on footwear, clothes and vehicles.
- Animal products from protection/surveillance zones are treated to destroy the virus.
Do I need to protect myself?
Advice from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) is that foot and mouth is not a direct public health threat, so you don’t need to worry about catching the disease. The Food Standards Agency released a statement after the most recent outbreak to say that it had no safety implications for the human food chain, so people don’t need to change their diets either.
What might be the impact of an outbreak?
There is no real risk of human illness from foot and mouth. While the disease is rarely fatal in animals, the infected creatures lose condition and dairy cows produce much less milk. The impact on animal health has a strong effect on the agricultural industry and the national economy.
Find out more
You can get free advice and more information from the following organisations: