FROM THE STATE VET’S OFFICE
Foot-andMouth Disease A Foreign Animal Disease That Poses a Unique Problem
The position of the State Veterinarian was established by State Law to administer and enforce rules and regulations that had to do with livestock diseases or sanitary livestock regulations. Throughout the years, the diseases we have focused on have changed and a few other responsibilities have been added to us such as overseeing the veterinary diagnostic laboratory system. Nonetheless, our responsibility has always been to assure the health of our state flocks and herds. I suppose that if I divided my responsibilities into categories, surveillance and preparing to respond to foreign animal diseases would rank high in importance. Foreign animal diseases (FADs) are just what the term says, diseases that are not normally found in the United States. They pose a unique problem because our domestic animal population has no immunity to those diseases. As we have seen with COVID-19 in the human population, where there is no immunity, a disease can spread very quickly. And when you factor in that animals do not know how to social distance and generally refuse to wear masks, a foreign animal disease could be disastrous. 16
Cooperative Farming News
There are two foreign animal diseases that tend to concern us more than others. Those are highly pathogenic avian influenza and foot-and-mouth disease. I mean no disrespect to all other FADs, but when we look at the potential for catastrophic losses to animal agriculture, those two diseases get the prize. I have written several articles in the past about avian influenza. Today, I want to make you familiar enough about foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) that you could at least answer a question about it on a game show. Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious disease that can infect both domestic and wild cloven-hooved animals. (It was eradicated from the United States in 1929). For our purposes that includes cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. Horses are resistant because they are not cloven-hooved. The virus causes painful sores on the lips and in the mouth and on the feet between and just above the hooves. It is extremely devastating to young nursing animals because they will not nurse because of the pain and become dehydrated and die. The sores begin as blisters. The blisters rupture and leave ulcers
