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Here we go again F and M is back in the uk,it is on one farm and thankfully the goverment has acted fast this time

The last out break was 2001 and so many farmers went out of bisuness and there was a big cull.I hope this time this will not affect so many farmers this time round.

yea and just down the road from me 8miles

Oh bugger. I live in the Irish countryside, hope they can keep it contained, its a tricky one F&M. :-3

goodish thing it is in surrey not a big area for cattle

We have that all the time here... Mostly it's just our politicians and celebrities that get it though.

Patrick;673838 wrote: We have that all the time here... Mostly it's just our politicians and celebrities that get it though.


:wah: Good one.

Seriously I thought that was a myth. So there really is a disease by the name? How it is acquired?? How do the cows get it?

Never see it in the States anymore as all farm animals have to be Vaccinated against it, its the law. Any animal with cloven hooves can get it. Even your cute little hedgehog can get it. On rare occasions humans can get it as well.

[QUOTE]



Species: Foot-and-mouth disease virus





Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD, Latin name Aphtae epizooticae), sometimes called hoof-and-mouth disease, is a highly contagious and sometimes fatal viral disease of cattle and pigs. It can also infect deer, goats, sheep, and other bovids with cloven hooves, as well as elephants, rats, and hedgehogs. Humans are affected only very rarely. The cause of FMD was first shown to be viral in 1897 by Friedrich Loeffler. He passed the blood of an infected animal through a fine porcelain-glass filter and found that the fluid that was collected could still cause the disease in healthy animals.

FMD occurs throughout much of the world, and whilst some countries have been free of FMD for some time, its wide host range and rapid spread represent cause for international concern. After World War II, the disease was widely distributed throughout the world. In 1996, endemic areas included Asia, Africa, and parts of South America; currently Chile is free, and Uruguay and Argentina have not had an outbreak since April 1994. North America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan have been free of FMD for many years. Most European countries have been recognized as free, and countries belonging to the European Union have stopped FMD vaccination; however, in 2001, a serious outbreak of FMD in Britain resulted in the slaughter of many animals, the cancellation of many sporting events and leisure activities such as Isle of Man TT and the postponing of the general election for a month. Due to strict government policies on sale of livestock, disinfection of all persons leaving and entering farms and the cancellation of large events likely to be attended by farmers, a potentially economically disastrous epidemic was avoided in the Republic of Ireland, with just 1 case recorded in Proleek, Co. Louth. Recently FMD has been found in a farm in Surrey, England. All live stock have been culled and a quarantine erected over the area.



Symptoms

Foot-and-mouth disease is characterized by high fever that declines rapidly after two or three days; blisters inside the mouth that lead to excessive secretion of stringy or foamy saliva and to drooling; and blisters on the feet that may rupture and cause lameness. Adult animals may suffer weight loss from which they do not recover for several months as well as swelling in the testicles of mature males, and in cows, milk production can decline significantly. Though most animals eventually recover from FMD, the disease can lead to myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and death, especially in newborn animals. Some infected animals remain asymptomatic, that is, they do not suffer from or show signs of the disease; but they are carriers of FMD and can transmit it to others.



Ruptured oral vesicle in a cow with FMDInfection with foot-and-mouth disease tends to occur locally, that is, the virus is passed on to susceptible animals through direct contact with infected animals or with contaminated pens or vehicles used to transport livestock. The clothes and skin of animal handlers such as farmers, standing water, and uncooked food scraps and feed supplements containing infected animal products can harbor the virus as well. Cows can also catch FMD from the semen of infected bulls. Control measures include quarantine and destruction of infected livestock, and export bans for meat and other animal products to countries not infected with the disease.



Ruptured blisters on the feet of a pig with FMDFoot-and-mouth disease is caused by an Aphthovirus of the viral family Picornaviridae. The members of this family are small (25-30 nm), nonenveloped icosahedral viruses that contain single-stranded RNA (ribonucleic acid, the viral genetic material). When such a virus comes in contact with a host cell, it binds to a receptor site and triggers a folding-in of the cell membrane. Once the virus is inside the host cell, its protein coat dissolves. New viral RNA and components of the protein coat are then synthesized in large quantities and assembled to form new viruses. After assembly, the host cell lyses (bursts) and releases the new viruses.

Humans can be infected with foot-and-mouth disease through contact with infected animals, but this is extremely rare. Because the virus that causes FMD is sensitive to stomach acid, it cannot spread to humans via consumption of infected meat. In the UK, the last confirmed human case occurred in 1967, and only a few other cases have been recorded in countries of continental Europe, Africa, and South America. Symptoms of FMD in humans include malaise, fever, vomiting, red ulcerative lesions (surface-eroding damaged spots) of the oral tissues, and sometimes vesicular lesions (small blisters) of the skin.

There is another viral disease with similar symptoms, commonly referred to as “hand, foot, and mouth disease,” that occurs more frequently in humans, especially in young children; this disease is caused by a different virus of the family Picornaviridae, namely, an Enterovirus called Coxsackie A virus.

Because FMD rarely infects humans but spreads rapidly among animals, it is a much greater threat to the agriculture industry than to human health. Farmers around the world can lose huge amounts of money during a foot-and-mouth epidemic, when large numbers of animals are destroyed and revenues from milk and meat production go down.[/QUOTE]

Thank you Carla!

I have been accused of having foot in mouth disease but I deny that.

Did anyone notice that this outbreak originated from a government biological laboratory not far from the farm that reported it? That's so inept of somebody.

We have a tradition of letting loose the unspeakable in the UK. Sometime after Smallpox was totally eradicated from the planet except in research laboratories, someone let it escape from Birmingham University. It was suppressed quickly but not after killing someone and infecting a few others.

We don't immunise against foot and mouth in the UK but the cost is occasional outbreaks. Last time, in 2001, the UK government had to slaughter and incinerate or bury six million farm animals to get it back under control.

Carla's wrong, the US doesn't vaccinate against foot and mouth either, it relies on nobody carrying the disease across its borders.

Not immunising isn't an economy measure, it's a choice. The countries which don't immunise and are free of the disease can export anywhere. If you immunise you shut off some export markets.